RWBY : The Curse of The Blessing Ones
by Dein les Ailes Noires
Summary: Remnant... The Great War has been over for more than sixty years, yet something is beginning to disturb the world order. Strange events happen in several parts of the world... Four people seek each other, while fighting the Grimms. Who are they ? Why are they fleeing? To find out, Commander James Ironwood will have to join forces with Ozpin ans his team to unravel the mystery.
1. Intro 1 - The First

_**The Man In Black**_

* * *

He was covered with a black wrapped cape, his face hidden behind a hood. In the shadow of his figure was the sheath of a katana.

Here the earth was black as if a burning fire had burned its surface, yet his steps left no sound, no trace. He was like a dead man, walking in the Valley of Death.

He was tired. Tired of fleeing... Walking... Being away...

When will they meet again ? When will they separate ?

A crack made him raise his head. Around him encircled the sinister masses of trees dead since hundreds of years. Trunks with bark blackened by the curse of the place, leafless branches, forming a hand with innumerable fingers stretched towards heaven as a last attempt to retain a life that was already fading away forever.

He stopped before one of those monuments of life now extinct, but still standing. A similarity to the being that he was himself : without heart beating, but always there, as if to better remind all the horrors of the past.

He put his hand on the rough bark for a few moments and closed his eyes, his head lowered.

— Requiem...

At this word, the tree was delivered from his condemnation. His roots detached from his trunk and he fell majestically, his body shrinking into a cloud of dark ashes even before touching the ground.

Then the nearest tree also yielded, and a third collapsed. And then a fourth, and a fifth. It was soon all the forest who was traversed by a mist of liberating darkness.

In the midst of total darkness, he found a feeling of peace. A relief at the idea of having delivered a brother from an unbearable duty. Slowly, he opened his eyes, and the mist suddenly dissipated, taking by surprise the rot that raged here below. Abominations devoid of all foundations, of all emotions. A grotesque imitation of its true aspect...

The Grimms. The Nightmare of Men.

A band of Death Stalkers. Thirty three. Only? He had expected a larger ambush. But was it really one? He quickly realized :

— An ambush… ? No. A simple welcome committee.

 _She_ just wanted to make him understand that she had found him. That to flee would never succeed. That _She_ would always catch up with him ...

Well, let _Her_ comes ! Let _her_ pour out with its hordes of monsters, that the World be plunged in chaos and blood ! They will be there to arrest him, for such was His command.

He raised his hand to his saber, slowly, smoothly. He had no hesitation, no fear. Today again, the game of « Kill or be killed » was going to be launched, but the dice were rigged from the start.

Slowly, a blood-red blade came out of its scabbard ...

PS : Hi, it's Dein !

Hope you'll enjoy my fanfic ! By the way, I'm French so I translate all my texts before the update. If you found somes mistakes in the lines, feel free to letting me know ! Thanks !


	2. Intro 2 - The Second

**_The Man In White_**

* * *

Sineth was a small village south of Mistral, very far from the main town and its defenses. Its inhabitants were outcasts, even criminals for some, sent here to try to found a new colony, but with little chance of succeeding. They were doomed to certain death, without guards or weapons to protect themselves. The south of Mistral was sadly known for its phenomenal population of Grimms.

It was the new way invented by the leaders of the kingdom to get rid of those they considered « disturbing for their interests ». Here, there would be no traces, no guilty. Just an unfortunate chance, an attack by Grimms, what would you do? The kingdom can not protect all colonies at the same time, is it ?

— The methods change, the intentions remain the same...

He wore a white cape and hood. His footsteps were silent under the sun, his clothes were immaculate despite the smoke and the flames. He walked, indifferent to what surrounded him.

Around him Beowulfs ravaged Sineth, ripped open houses, devoured their inhabitants. The straw roofs burned with a thousand fires and the blood flowed abundantly following the relief of the paving stones.

It was not the first time he'd seen this kind of massacre, nor the first time he went through this kind of scene without getting involved. He had formerly caused such horrors, his heart had become hardened with time.

A woman in tears ran before him with her child in her arms. How many years ? Four ? Five years, maybe ?

He continued to walk. To maintain his cocoon of invisibility which had allowed him to flee in discretion until now...

A Beowulf caught her and lacerated her back with a blow of vicious claws.

He did not look. He should not. Too many horrors rested here. A look at what surrounded him and...

— Mama ! Mamaaaa ! The child whined.

He shook his mother's body as the Beowulf turned to his new prey...

It was now six years. Six years... He remembered the child he had been forced to raise by claiming to be his father... In the name of the most unpardonable of sins: Salvation... What had he gained as a reward ? What had they all gained, apart from suffering and despair ?

The Beowulf scolded and opened his mouth full of fangs to the crying child, who stood there stupidly, despite the incantations murmured by his mother. Why were they all so ? Unable to flee despite the danger, preferring to stay here with his own even if it meant death ?

— And shit...

He paused. Why was he the same, too?

A shrill whistle took the place of the menacing roar of the Grimm. The child turned his head and saw through his tearful eyes the head of the monster who had wounded his mother coming off it neck.

Before he understood what had just happened, a man in white appeared before him.

— Hold on to your mother, boy. And close your eyes... This is not a show for children.

He drew his cloak and threw it on the child and his mother, wrapping them both in the opaque cloth. The last thing he saw was the sword he wore on his hip. A silver sword... Then there was nothing but noise.

The noise of monsters, those of a whistle, of gurgling, the sound of heavy things falling to the ground...

And that of rain. A strange rain which, when it reached them, covered the cape with red spots. There were many tasks...

And in the end, there was nothing left.


	3. Intro 3 - The Third

_**The Woman In Black**_

* * *

Count Dimer was the only son of one of the wealthiest Atlas families known to be an inveterate petticoat, enjoying the beauty of women from the moment he saw them. The darkest rumors said that he laughed at the age of his prey, so some minors would have rubbed his couch long before their majority...

If the second reputation was impossible to verify, the first one seemed right.

In the darkness of a deluxe room, a woman pulled up the slide of her dress and adjusted it so as not to ruin it. After all, this garment was a loan. She did not want her owner to wake up tomorrow and no longer find such a masterpiece... Too bad, it was really haute couture !

They shifted behind her. A gag in his mouth, Dimer was now handcuffed to his own bed, furious at being made to have this way while she dressed quietly !

She was of insolent beauty. His long black hair, combined with his own black eyes, and his predatory smile formed the cocktail of charm that had attracted him like a mosquito to the flames. As soon as he had taken her to her room, neutralizing her had been a breeze for her! She left him her pathetic prisoner and searched in her portfolios, quickly found what she was looking for: an access card.

— Bingo.

She inserted it into her Scroll and connected to the computer system of the Atlas army. Dimer had his entrances there, with his rank of lieutenant. It was not high in the hierarchy but it was enough for him. She did not look for ultra-sensitive files, just ... That's it ! She read the documents briefly and uploaded them to her Scroll.

— Perfect... But now, what will I do with you ?

She turned to the prisoner and then he discovered, hidden until then by make-up, the trace of a tattoo following the lower contour of her right eye. He had not seen a drawing of that kind. She slowly approached him, displaying a wolf smile. Carnassier, mocking, domineering. Everything he thought he'd ever been !

She held out to him the point of her umbrella, which, with a gesture of her fingers, turned into a small scythe, but with a blade sharp enough to kill him. She wanted him to remember until the end of her days that vision, the pressure of her blade against her throat, the sensation of the blood stream running down her throat… She approched her face from him and say smiling :

— Thank you for your cooperation, Count Dimer. May we never see each other again !

Then, with the suppleness of a cat, she rushed to the window and disappeared into the darkness of the night.


	4. Intro 4 - The Forth

The Woman In White

* * *

It was raining on Patch, a torrential rain that had forced the people to shelter from the deluge with the exception of one person, a woman. She wore a white cape and a hood covered her face, which did not prevent long blond locks from descending to the base of her neck. Despite the rain and the strong wind, she remained leaning against the wall of the back of a fishermen's shop.

Neither the cold nor the bursts seemed to affect her. She seemed to be plunged into too deep darkness to feel the onslaught of the outside world. In her mind, a word came back in a loop with an only question.

How much... How much ? Dead ? Lives swept by its passage ? She wanted to save people, but how many had died in return ?

A gust of wind more vicious than the others blew her hood, revealing an angelic face, without defect or bad intention in her eyes, just fatigue and a total absence of light in her eyes.

A drop of water fell on her eye and drew a tear flowing down her cheek. She had no more tears to cry then the sky was replacing her. But she was unable to thank that attention.

How long have they been fleeing ? How long had they not met again ? Ten years ? Fifteen ? She lost hope ... It was impossible to know if they were still alive. SHE will not stop until she had all of them under her chains, controled, dominated, perfect machines to kill for her plans of destruction.

— No…

No. Needless to think about that tonight. She had to rest, regain strength before continuing her journey. If she remained too long here, this village risked being victim of an attack of Grimm...

They would meet. After all, they were bound together, right ?


	5. Chapter 1 - Questions

— She was alone ? For sure ?

— Yes ! The Count Diner was annoyed. How many times will I have to repeat myself before you listen to me !

— Excuse me, sir, but I can not believe that a single woman can escape from the security compound around Atlas."

For Commander James Ironwood, such a thing was hard to believe. The Academy - the new capital of Solitas - was the safest place in any Remnant. How could a woman escape the most sophisticated security systems as easily and without leaving a trace ? He left the count there, and left the room, and was immediately joined by his men, who inspected the whole building for clues. Obviously in vain from their defeated mines. He felt that he had returned to the time of the Great War, the stories his father told him about Vale's spies, discreet as shadows, elusive as eels.

This case was likely to provoke serious diplomatic problems in the abnormality of a designated culprit, Atlas risked distrusting all other nations. The withdrawal into itself was what had led Mantle to a dictatorial state in the past. In the interest of all, he had to find this woman. He asked Hood, his subordinate.

— Do we only know what she has been looking for ?

James Ironwood suspected the answer. This woman had achieved an unequaled feat for more than sixty years. If he ever wished to find himself at the post of General-in-Chief of the Atl- laan armies and director of the Atlas Academy, he had to present the culprit to justice.

— Nothing important, Hood said. Perhaps this is the strangest thing : reports of acknowledgments. And she uploaded only two.

— Reports ? Why ?

— Well, the first contains the story of a child, the only survivor of a village in Mistral, Sineth... He relates that he was saved by a man with a silver sword and a white hooded cloak. This individual would have exterminated all the Grimms.

— A man alone with a silver sword ? Probably a Hunter.

— A request for investigation was launched by Mistral to find the identity of this man. According to them, none of their Hunters corresponds to his description

— An unknown hero saves an orphan ? Looks like a cliché. And the second report ?

— There, it becomes more complicated...

— Why is that ?

— It's an event that happened on Draconis...

Draconis, the territory of the Grimms ... The continent north-west of Remnant, a place of perdition where all attempts to settle colonies had failed because of the excessive presence of the most ferocious Grimm creatures : Dragons, Kings Taijitu, Death Stalkers and Griffons. Only two outposts heavily armed by the combined troops of Atlas and Vale were still resisting the assaults of these monsters. The Atlesian Council even planned to evacuate the troops stationed there within a few months because of the high casualty rate.

— It was a reconnaissance team that made the report. For five days, they did not record any attack of Grimms.

 _Five days ?!_ thought James. _It's a peace record on Draconis !_

— Men have discovered that much of what they call the "Black Forest" has disappeared...? And that all the Grimms who were there were exterminated.

— Exterminated ?

— They deduced it from traces of intensive fighting on the ground. According to them, it would be the work of one man. None of their men were outside at the time of the events.

— So ... We have two perfect strangers on two far-off continents who have performed acts worthy of the greatest Hunters... And a woman with a tattoo with an eye and a little fearless comes to this place to learn where it is, happened ? How do you go up the puzzle ?

— Look for all the men wearing a white hooded cloak? asked Rook, a fresh recruit out of the military academy, often beside the plate.

— Rook…, said one of the soldiers, glaring at him.

— Sorry !

— It may not be such a bad idea, Hood sneered.

Ironwood looked at him curiously at his remark.

— The Beacon Academy, in Vale, has issued several research reports on four individuals.

— An academy that launches research notices ? Are they Criminal Hunters ?

— No. The academy doesn't quote the reason for this research, but it is about four people. Two men and two women wearing hooded coats. One of each gender wear a black cloth, the other a white cloth. And the best is: the woman in black carries... a tattoo under the right eye.

Ironwood remained silent. Vale ... There had been only a few occasions in the kingdom of Vale, but he remembered very well his meeting with the director of the academy, Ozpin. At the time, he was a strong supporter of those who wanted to avoid distributing Atlas technology to the rest of the world. To this, Ozpin had insisted on the necessity that humanity could only advance through mutual aid. He still remembered the dispute that had followed their exchanges. And also of the almost religious devotion that Ozpin was dedicated to the understanding of all, human as well as faunus. It had marked him. Even today he remembered the words of this man :

 _The victory did not happen because the king of Vale has overcome his enemies to end the war. But because he stretched out his hand to begin peace._

— Well... Gentlemen, get ready for the trip. Direction Vale.


	6. Chapter 2 - Meeting

— Whoa ! It is huge ! Rook said, staring at the academy.

From the cockpit he could see the Beacon Academy and the surrounding forest. It was a very different spectacle from the glacial tundras of Atlas.

On board of the Bullhead, Ironwood could only approve of the beauty of the place. As a commanding officer, he had permission to come to Beacon by air provided he was accompanied by a restricted escort. As a good second, Hood had naturally agreed to come. For Rook, he had insisted so much that James could only accept, even though he didn't understand the reason for such enthusiasm.

— Beacon, said Ironwood. The first Academy of Hunters of History. All the others were built from its general appearance. The most famous Hunters were trained here as Achille Pyrrha. Or the STRQ team.

— The STRQ team ?! Repeated Rook, his eyes suddenly full of stars. This is the strongest team of Remnant Hunters ! They have barely finished their schooling that they have become famous all over the world!

Hood raised an amused eyebrow.

— I have the impression that we are dealing with a passionate, commander.

— Oh yes ! Said Rook. I would have liked to have been born with a Semblance ! When I was little, I wanted to become a Hunter... And then I finished soldier.

— One would almost think you had chosen the army out of spite, Hood said with a look in his corner.

— Ah no no no ! panicked the recruit. That's not what I meant !

Hood let out a sneer at the soldier's fright. Their commander didn't try to silence them. The case of Rook wasn't uncommon. Many aspiring hunters joined the army to protect the widow and the orphan and to try to find fame by fighting the Grimms.

The aircraft landed on the landing area where a middle-aged man with an imposing mustache was waiting for them. He was a Hunter, Ironwood could tell by the way he stared at him insistently and briefly. Rapid analysis of the terrain was a vital necessity on the ground, for the military as well as for the Hunters.

— I'm Professor Peter Port. I'll take you to Ozpin's office. Here, if you will.

— Thank you for guiding us, Ironwood agreed.

— Wait! Rook opened his big fan eyes. You said Port ? THE Peter Port of Vale ?! The Hunter who has driven the invasion of the Sea Dragons off Patch alone seven years ago ?!

The three individuals looked at their companion with more or less dismay. Hood put his hand on his face with a long sigh ... Ironwood cast a disapproving look but to everyone's surprise, Port began to giggle contentedly.

— Ah ah ah ah ! Young man, I see that you know the subject well! That's right, my boy, it is indeed me who put an end to the campaign of terror of these Aquatic Grimms! But my greatest success was undoubtedly the capture of a Beowulf when I was still a student at Beacon! Ah, if only my students were so interested in my stories!

— Whaaaaa ! So cool ! No one in the country will believe me when I'll tell them that I met you! And is it true that you ...?

Hood reacts in time and seizes the soldier by the collar. The latter feverishly beat his feet to regain contact with the ground. This scene made the pupils laughing, watching them in the distance.

— You'll talk to the teacher later, all right?

— Sir. Yes, Sir…!

Ironwood thanked him with a nod.

— Sorry for the inconvenience, he apologized to Port.

— Oh, it's nothing ! I like seeing such dynamic young people ! You see, it reminds me of my youth when...

Unfortunately, Hood and the Commandant discovered the terrible fault of the professor: once he had started his stories, it became impossible to stop him from talking... To the greatest happiness of Rook !

It was a blessing that the elevator was so fast ! This only made the interminable Port monologue shorter. When they entered the headmaster's office, Ironwood immediately recognized him. Nothing had changed since the last time, he might have thought he had left yesterday... The office was identical to his memories, the gigantic gears moving above them were also. And there, with a cup of coffee in his hand, his cane close at hand, his hair eternally gray, was Ozpin.

— Hello, James. I heard you became a commander now?

— Good morning, Ozpin. I see that you are always as informed.

— Oh, your promotion went around Remnant : the youngest Atlas commander. You were on the second page of the newspaper if I remember correctly... Hello to you too Hood.

— Sir.

— It was a pretty boring day," Ironwood reminded himself." Too much speech ... Permit me ?

— Sure, sit down.

Ironwood took his seat opposite Ozpin, who prepared a second cup of coffee for him. He observed the precision of the director's gestures, and serving coffee was a usual act, and his movements had become mechanical.

— You know why I am here, I suppose ?" He said when he received the cup.

— Yes.

The manager opened a drawer and placed a Scroll on the desk. The screen scrolls through four search notices with the same descriptions as Hood's. No faces, just descriptions, with roughly stated : « Wanted at all costs. »

— Some friends of you ?

— Not really. Let's say that I have been interested in their case for several years, although I still have not been able to discuss with them. I sent several of my best Hunters to pursue them, but none of them ever managed to find them.

— Why do you want to see them so much?

— At the risk of surprising you, James. It is a secret that I intend to preserve for the moment.

Ironwood put his clasped hands on the desk and stared hard at the manager.

— One of the two women has sequestered the son of one of the wealthiest families of Atlas. Believe me, Ozpin. That's. Concerns. Me.

Silence fell into the room. Peter Port and the Ironwood's subordinates felt the tension between their leaders. Ozpin said nothing. He contented himself with looking into the commander's, who remained stoic. Perhaps that convinced Ozpin.

— She had a tattoo under her right eye? Black hair?

— And black eyes too, yes.

— Why did she do that?

— At the risk of surprising you, Ozpin. I, too, possess some secrets that I don't want reveal actually.

Ozpin frowned. It was strange that this man, usually so agreeable, was so mysterious about these four individuals.

— Port ? Please leave us alone.

— Hood, Rook, follow the teacher.

When they were alone, Ironwood decided to take the cup of coffee in front of him. Yes, something was wrong...

— Ozpin. Tell me the truth.

The headmaster observed its reflection on the surface of the coffee. Hesitated. Ceded.

— I call them the Four. I know neither their names nor their faces. I just know they are four, they always have been. They appear where the Grimms abound and exterminate them all before resuming their journey. There are indications that they were still together but one day they separated. Why ? This is the question... They are not Hunters and yet I value them even more than my best men. Maybe even stronger than Achille Pyrrha.

— So why these search notices ?

— It is a means like any other to try to approach them. At worst, I get information about their positions.

— But unreliable.

— Yes. Unfortunately, Sort all the information at the same time is impossible for me. By the time I cross all the information to know where one of them is, he's already gone. They never stay in the same place for long.

— Why do you think so ?

— I suppose it's because the Grimms never attack twice in one place.

— So ... It would be a vendetta ? A vengeance against the Grimms ?

To this, Ozpin could only shrug his shoulders, unable to know the truth.

— Why did not you ask for help from the other academies ?

— My second assumption : they stay in motion, separated from each other because someone is following them.

— It's ridiculous. Who could defeat four such powerful person ?

— Perhaps us, who knows ?

* * *

He would run fast. Faster than any human. Every time he set foot on the ground, the ground exploded ! A shock wave was forming behind him. It was going faster than sound !

He had realized the trap in extremis and now he had to flee. Nothing could stop him but it was not enough. He did not turn his head, but he felt it. There, in his back, his breath on his neck ! He had never seen anything similar to this creature! Worse than a Dragon ! _She_ had designed it especially for them !

A form appeared at the limit of his field of vision. He drew his sword and beheaded the creature with a precise gesture ! The corpse of this abomination had not even touched the ground that it was already far away. Quick. Faster ! He had to disappear, to hide himself...

* * *

— Us ?" Repeated Ironwood.

— Why do the Grimms continue to attack us when an animal would have understood that our borders are too well defended ? Why do they persist ?

— I see... You're talking about this legend ? The younger god who created the creatures of Grimms to oppose the abundance of life created by his elder brother ? Nothing more than stories for children, Ozpin. I am surprised that you believe in this kind of story.

— No doubt you are right, James. But let us return to this question : why do they avoid contact with the world ? Why don't they join one of Remnant's academies ?

— Sorry Ozpin, but I do not have time to assume. I need information to stop the culprit. Is there a way to trap them ? They can't stay vigilant at all times, they have to relax at one time or another, make mistakes ...

The headmaster of Beacon shook his head.

— They are experts in this purview. Believe me, James, I searched many places where they had passed. There was nothing.

The fact that Ozpin went in person to the terrain confirmed the importance of these people in his eyes. From what James knew, Ozpin never left the neighborhood of Beacon.

— So it's a dead end.

— That's not what I said. You see, I noticed a very disturbing phenomenon: where one of the Four passes, the Grimms follow.

Ironwood was stunned.

— The Grimms... hunt these people ?

Ozpin took a cup of coffee and took a sip of the delicious liquid.

— I too was surprised when I discovered this. They drive them out because they fear them. Because they know they can exterminate them. Follow the abnormal movements of Grimms hordes and maybe you'll find them...

— I'm looking for one in particular.

— Find one of them, and you will find the others. Good luck, James.


	7. Chapter 3 - The Call

**CHAPTER 3**

 _ **THE CALL**_

* * *

He thrust his saber to the guard in the Griffon's skull. The gigantic creature collapsed to the ground and he turned to his next opponent, a King Taijitu. The two-headed serpent threw himself upon him, his mouths wide open. He guided his blade in a curve that decapitated the two heads at once. The body immediately disintegrated into smoke and he emerged from it, saber in hand, seeking his next target. Nothing moved around him, except for the smoke emanating from the hundreds of corpses of Grimms. Dragons, Griffons, King Taijitu, Death Stalkers, he had killed them all. His sword was filled with their filthy blood, and his ears rejoiced in their cries of agony. Of their vain attempt to beat him while Death struck them one after the other. He had lost himself with pleasure in the frenzy of the combat. In those moments, killing was the most satisfying thing he could do. And as soon as one Grimm died, ten others were there to replace hit... It had seemed endless...

And then he awoke from his intoxication, the desolation around him. Why did his heart squeezed in his chest ? Why the taste of blood no longer awakened in him the desire to fight ? Why did he felt so empty at that moment ?

Was he so broken than it ?

He sheathed his saber and readjusted his black hood over his head. He wasn't far from a former port colony. He would surely find a boat to leave Draconis.

He was not far from an old harbor colony that had been quickly destroyed after its founding ... There would surely find a boat to leave Draconis. He imagined perfectly the Grimms at the feet of the wall, their claws shredding slowly - but surely - the steel of the wall... The horror in the eyes of the military unable to stem this terrible wave... The roaring and squealing... The fear in the hearts of civilians holed up in bunkers...

He entered the colony knowing that it was a mistake. He should have walked along the beach to the ruined port rather than walking along the main street. He should not have let his mind remember a long time ago...

On the right, the burnt house was that of old Joel who hated the curfew and the soldiers that forced him out of the bar before dark and spent the rest of the evening watching television.

There, at the turn left, the house in ruins, it was there that lived the Talvi, a just married couple who had left the cold of Solitas to help build a better country for their future children...

He continued walking, recalling all the names of all the inhabitants of the decimated colony. Their faces, their stories and their hopes.

.

And then he stopped in front of the remains of a bar. The windows had been broken and he could see the interior from where he was. Moved by an impulse he knew was unfortunate, he pushed open the door of the entrance, which collapsed in contact with his hand.

Nothing was like what he had known. The tables and stools were almost all on the ground, broken or burned. The counter that Amanda, the bar's owner, was striving to shine as well as the shelf where each bottle was perfectly aligned... All this had been replaced by a huge hole, probably an explosive or a rocket.

The intruder turned his head down the outline of the door. There was still a trace of a pencil behind the dust. The childish style of Nora, the daughter of Amanda, who loved coloring the interior of the bar because she thought it was sorely lacking in colors... All the customers were laughing and defending the girl when her mother came back from the kitchen and noticed the ravages of her daughter.

He only stayed two days here but he remembered everything...

— Rest... No Grimm will be able to come to you here...," said the mayor of the small colony of a hundred inhabitants.

Five days after his departure, he had heard the news.

The destruction of the colony by a horde of Grimms. An unprecedented number. No survivor had survived.

It was forty years ago...

.

Forty years, too many tragedies and here he was coming back. Did he have the right ? Amanda might have found a new husband after fleeing from the man who had cheated on her and beaten her in Mistral, and Nora could have grown up in peace and become friends with the Talvi's children... Old Joel might have decided a day to return to his home in the evening before the military come to warn him each time at the same hour, which had created the recurring gag in the colony...

Or maybe it would have been useless anyway. This colony would have been destroyed by the Grimms like all the others before... and after it…

He had only advance the deadline.

— Requiem...

He left the bar. He still remembered the way to the boathouses. If they were not all destroyed, he would be able to repair one to go to sea.

As for his route, the wind will guide him and he will continue his mission until his debt was paid.

* * *

— I am scared…

— You don't have to fear the night. You are the light that chases her.

— Those who fear darkness have no idea what light can do.

— A Dein represents so much... A sum of knowledge, an opinion on life, a legacy for all those who were swept away in the Flux...

— We will be forgotten, the inexorable time will do its work...

— No matter how fast the light travels, darkness always comes first, and she's waiting for her.

* * *

She blinked several times, slowly extirpating from her deep sleep. She opened her eyes… Gradually, she realized that her world had changed. In front of her, the rainy and muddy alley had been replaced by a pleasant chimney fire.

As for her, she rested on a chair, wrapped in a comfortable blanket. Behind him came a pleasant smell of food while cooking.

She jumped up, realizing her stupidity ! How long had she been sleeping? She still wore her white dress on her, but not her white coat. A glance at the coat rack next to the door and she found it. She grabs it while opening the door. She had to leave as soon as possible !

— It's not good to leave without saying thank you," she heard behind her.

She turned, startling, and found an old lady with a mature but peaceful look. And the old lady thought she saw an angel, losing herself for a moment in the beauty of her long blond hair and especially her blue eyes like the sky. The young woman seemed preoccupied with her presence here, as if the intruder was her !

— Thanks for… the cover", said the unknown woman.

— Oh, it's nothing... You were frozen under the rain, it was normal to shelter you at home.

Both were embarrassed, for different reasons.

— Excuse me, I know I should not ask you this but what were you doing outside during the last night ? A pretty woman like you should not be sleeping in the street.

— No inn was open," she lied.

— Really ? I was convinced that the Old Anchor still had one or two free chambers...

— Navigators have preceded me. But I don't blame them.

— Oh, well, you should have imposed yourself ! I let you imagine how bad you were when I met you. I prepared the meal, why not enjoy it while you are here ?

She took a step back, as if the invitation was a trap. For her, it was a purely altruistic reflex. The closer she was to one person, the more likely she was to die ! She hurried to put on her white coat.

— No... Sorry, but I planned to leave at daybreak.

— If that's what you want.

The old lady opened the door and let her out. Outside, the bad weather was gone, replaced by a radiant sun. The Woman in White turned to the old woman who hailed her as she left.

— I don't know where you are going, but... You seem to be really exhausted. Take care of yourself.

— Thank you Madam…?

— Xiao Long, An Xia Long. My son is a Hunstman at the Becon Academy.

She nodded in gratitude and walked away from the village to the port. As she walked along the road, among the villagers happy in their simple but happy life, a lightning bolt passed through her.

She stopped at once, breathing out, a weight in her belly. Around her, people became frozen, their gestures interrupted as if they had become the images of a photograph. That was the _signal_. His eyes looked for the threat but there was nothing in the neighborhood. Then she felt the icy breeze of the wind, a current that was becoming fatal, an invitation to the morbid spectacle. Far, in the South-East… Vale, and one of its cities…

* * *

— Sorry but no. It doesn't tell me anything at all," replied an old sailor after searched through his memory.

— Thanks anyway," she said, sighing.

She left the old man, who followed her with his eyes. Surely he had never seen such a pretty woman, nor such a tattoo.

She disappeared into the crowd.

Here neither…

The Woman in Black thought it would have been easier to find someone who could take a man in black on Draconis than to search all Mistral… She had visited all the towns and villages of Vacuo but in vain. Neither honest sailors nor pirates or smuggler networks had been hired to take anyone to this continent of Death.

Apparently, the one she was looking for had not come here. Wrong path…

It was no longer worth the trouble to leave for Draconis, she knew that he had been gone for a long time. All that remained to her was Mistral and its vast expanses of wild land.

She moans with lassitude at this thought…

— Oh Lux, you're in so much trouble when I find you…

Then the wind blew on her back and she stopped, listening to the elements. The world around her stopped, the sea rolls stopped, the ball that a child threw to a friend remained suspended in the air. The distant rumbling of the sea was no more, she alone was still conscious. She waited…

The _signal_ came and oriented her. And she knew that the expectation was over. She wasn't at her best but her duty called to her, and she could not refuse.

Time resumed its course. The sea ran aground against the sand of the beach, the ball fell into the hands of a child, a merchant in the distance shouted to those who wished to hear it the freshness of his fish. She clenched her teeth and turned back, straight to her new goal. And as soon as this mission is accomplished, she will resume her course and her researches… No matter how many Grimms to kill, no matter the traps, she will survive. And will come the day when she will get vengeance for this slave existence !

* * *

The Bullhead joined the _Conviction_ , the flying warship of Ironwood. It was a frigate, a small aircraft compared to the battleships of Atlas. But it was fast, sturdy and his crew had been personally chosen by Ironwood himself. Everyone knew the mission and worked together to accomplish it under his command. He couldn't have dreamed of a better crew. He got answers, but he still didn't know how to find this woman in black.

— Keep yourselves in front of the commanding officer!" Hood said as they disembarked from the shuttle.

The soldiers greeted them at once, and their commanding officer greeted them in return. He met with Hood and Rook and explained to them the summary of his interview with Ozpin. What did he know in the end ?

— They exterminate the Grimms and the Grimms track them down in return.

— And as soon as the Grimms attack in numbers, they appear to massacre them," continued Hood." So we should wait for an attack on an important city to hope to capture it ?

— No. I refuse to wait until a tragedy arrives. We'll find another way to catch her, or one of the others. If Ozpin tells the truth, keeping one under lock will attract the remainder of the band...

— Wait," Rook interjected. You don't think to imprison them ?! I mean… They help us ! They're fighting for Remnant !

Hood looked at him, unhappy with his bad manners, but Ironwood ignored it.

— Soldier. Do you know what's going on in Atlas since this case ?

— Uh… No…

— Conservative members of the Council took the opportunity to propose a bill that would end all alliances and trade agreements established with other kingdoms. Do you understand what that would mean to us ? The beginning of a return to the dictatorship of Mantle. The only way to prevent this is to arrest this woman and prove that she acted for a personal purpose. Remember our motto !

— Aye aye sir ! "The duty of a soldier is not to fight, but to protect peace"!

— What we are doing is protecting peace for a better future.

— Sir Yes Sir !

* * *

From his office, Ozpin watched the _Conviction_ while drinking his coffee. Ironwood was a man of good… convictions, and he believed his ideals were probably close to his own, but the Headmaster was afraid that Atlas would be too interested in the Four, and that he couldn't allow it. He used his Scroll and contacted the members of his group. He didn't lie to the Atlas commander when he said ignore their positions, but he knew where they would be very soon…

The face of a black-and-red-haired young woman appeared on the screen.

— Headmaster ?

— Team STRQ, I'll need you.

She opened her silver eyes wide to this announcement.

— That's it ? You found them ?!

Ozpin smiled.

— Summer, a Hunter, even behind a desk, always finds his target.


	8. Chapter 4 - Mountain Glenn

A rough man counted the money with meticulousness. Here at Mistral, money was a much more precious commodity than morality. Only the madmen, some wise men and the Hunters were opposed to this philosophy of life. Let the Grimms prevail !

— Okay, go up. The first room on the right. One night, that's all. After you kick the camp.

— That is my intention.

He had finally succeeded in fleeing his assailants and found refuge at Mistral. There, even _she_ wouldn't dare to attack him in the heart of the kingdom. His white mantle had been used to hide his wounds in front of the innkeeper and potential bandits. He had obtained a room reduced to a minimum with the corners covered of cobwebs, a bed with sheets eaten away by moths and a cracked window. It was spartan but it was more than enough for him. Like the others, he had also felt the _signal_ , but first he had to heal as soon as possible.

He pulled off his coat and T-shirt and remained bare-chested. His abdomen was traversed by a deep scar with imprecise contours. He had confronted several species of Grimms but these creatures were a first. Fast, powerful, and extremely well coordinated with each another. A real threat...

If he had been in the best of his form, he would have easily slaughtered them. But the constant fleeing and the incessant battles had emptied his forces since a long time. He couldn't endure it anymore. This carnage had lasted for too long...

He raised his hands as if to contemplate and a bluish light illuminated his palms. He put his hands down the wound and when he pulled them out, his skin showed no scars any more ! Some people would have called it a miracle, or else a heresy. He did not care, and preferred to lie down on the bed. He barely put his head on the pillow and sank into a deep sleep.

* * *

— Here we are ! Mountain Glenn !" said Rose Rose to the rest of the STRQ team.

From the hill where she was, she could see the entire extent of the colony less than 5 kilometers away.

— Less quickly, Summer ! replied Taiyang behind her, exhausted after the race she had made when she learned she was close to the colony.

More severe, Raven gave him a flick on the forehead.

— Ouch !

— Remember that you are no longer a child," she said, her eyes red. "You're our leader, act as such !

— Relax, sister, " smiles Qrow arriving after them.

— Qrow ... Ozpin told us to watch over her. If she decides to leave us behind, how are we supposed to protect her ?

— Oz can say what he wants, Summer is the best of us. The one who's the best to defends her is herself.

He winked at Summer, and Raven sighed. As usual, Qrow let out express his frankness, even before his sister.

— Come on, this way !" resumed Summer with good humor.

Mountain Glenn was a young, prosperous colony, Vale's pride.

It had been built in the south of the kingdom, beyond the barrier of mountains which protected the inhabitants of Vale from the hordes of Grimms.

To the surprise of all, the colony had faced the assaults of the monsters. An experienced military barracks secured the protection of the city and an ingenious underground railway linking Mountain Glenn to Vale made it possible to bring more people here, settlers dreaming of starting a fresh start. Projects also planned to expand the city within a few years due to its significant growth.

The team of Hunters passed the protective enclosure surrounding the colony. The walls were six meters high, three meters wide, with barbed wire and self-contained automatic weapons, capable of spotting and killing any Grimm at more than a kilometer, and without the need for anyone to controle it. Thanks Atlas for its robotic skills.

— What are Hunters doing here ?" asked a guard who blocked their way.

— It's okay, let them pass.

The guard recognized his superior and obeyed obediently. The head of the defense perimeter welcomed them to Mountain Glenn.

— So you STRQ team ?

— Yes, and you must be Dietrich Scharnhorst.

— Oh ?" said Raven, raising an eyebrow. THE Scharnhorst ?

A legend in the Valean army. Three times on Draconis and not once wounded. At thirty-five he had dropped everything and disappeared from the traffic. So it was to finish here ? Raven was disappointed. She liked to think that a warrior remained a warrior to the end. For those of his tribe, if a strong one showed weakness, he _became_ weak. And this man was the proof.

— Himself, kiddo.

Raven scowled, his hand swung over the handle of his saber, and the tension escalated immediately, but Taiyang interposed just in time between the two warriors.

— Hey, hey! We didn't come here to cause troubles, but to prevent them from happening.

Scharnhorst nodded gravely. Raven dropped his hand down his leg, away from his saber. The matter was settled. The Chief of Security spoke again :

— Ozpin warned me that there might be a mayhem. I increased the security and posted men throughout the city. They know who you are and are willing to cooperate with you when needed.

— Thank you and forgive me for the offense," said Summer.

— Ozpin's friends are my friends. With some exceptions.

Raven did not answer.

— I do not know what you're doing here, and I trust Ozpin enough not to try to find out. But I ask you to act sweetly. Mountain Glenn is going to celebrate his 16th birthday tonight. I want to avoid a general panic one day so important, is that clear ?

— That's understood," Qrow shouted.

— Sixteen years ? It's incredible ! " said Summer.

— I know. For a colony of this size, it is an unmatched record. And I want it to continue. I have enough worries to do with the Grimms ...

— Same here," Raven said, entering the city first, soon followed by the rest of the STRQ team.

They discovered a vibrant city, with stalls and profusion of decorations on every street corner. They had not experienced such an event since the Vale festival. Summer looked at each stand with a broad smile, as pleased as usual. Even Raven let herself smile at the young woman's gaiety. She could not understand how her leader managed to marvel at the world around her. She was more realistic, rooted in her role as Huntress, anxious to protect Remnant from the Grimms.

— _How can you protect the world if you do not know what it contains_ ? She replied one day.

Since then, Raven had traveled, visited the continents, discovered the cities and the inhabitants, their cultures and their customs. She had learned a lot and understood better the Summer's point of view, but if she was too proud to confess it even if she suspected her brother to guess it. Speaking of Summer...

— Be careful…

She pointed to her eyes and Summer readjusted her colored lenses, imitating the color of her hair. A security imposed by Ozpin, even if they did not know why. The subject of his silver eyes was a secret to the Headmaster.

Taiyang watched the immense crowd around them circulate freely throughout the city. They were Hunters, tracking the enemy was easy for them. Except that in this situation they were unaware of their prey.

— I think we should separate," Taiyang said. We're more likely to go unnoticed.

His companions shook their heads and each took a different path.

* * *

Summer wandered among the crowd, cheerful of the atmosphere of the town that reminded her of Patch, the village of Taiyang. But though she seemed careless, she watched those around her, searching in the crowd for anyone wearing a white or black hooded coat. But in this festive season no one wore such accoutrements. She noticed the patrols of soldiers, and others, posted at the top of the roofs or at the corners of the streets. Their presences certainly would not reassure the Four, but they were there for a reason and she had to know which. She knew in what situations they appeared, and she prayed that nothing would happen to Mountain Glenn. She was not unaware that many colonies have been razed in the past by the Grimms, but she wondered if it was still possible that such a catastrophe would happen, with these walls and soldiers ? She hoped not...

Then she noticed a little square of public garden pressed between two buildings. A tree sat there in the center and a woman in a blue dress was busy with the flowers planted around the plant. The arrangement was so perfect that she did not resist the urge to approach it.

The florist stroked the flowers at the end of their lives with the tip of her fingers, this simple gesture was enough to give a second life to the plants that stood up, sporting their most beautiful colors under Summer's intrigued gaze.

— It's incredible !

The woman raised her head to Summer and her heart held back to beat for a moment. More than her hair leaps like the sun, it was her blue eyes that fascinated her. Two magnetic gems that mingled sweetness and warmth. She seemed to be about her thirtieth birthday, but this gaze kept her from the waves of time.

— I ... How do you ... flowers ?

The woman smiled at him with maternal sweetness.

— I saw these flowers abandoned here, they just needed a little attention.

— I also tried to plant flowers when I was kid but it didn't work. I was too impatient to see them grow.

— You have to take your time with them. It's funny but it's like having kids, you have to be attentive with them.

Summer read a nostalgic gleam in her eyes.

— You have children ?

She nodded with an angel's smile.

— I had, yes. Five.

— Oh... I'm sorry.

— That's not what you think," she reassured her. They left to live their lives, and I mine. Our roads have separated, that's all.

— Then you can one day see them again?

— Yes. A day will come when I shall join them. I've been away for too long...

— Why do not you leave right away?

— Let's say I have one more thing to do that keeps me here.

— Then I hope you'll finish it as soon as possible, said Summer, with a frank smile.

This touched the woman, who smiled at her while delicately plucking a flower to offer it to her.

— Oh, it's not worth it !" said Summer at first.

— No, take it. It's a rose. The flower of tenderness...

— And determination, for his thorns keep it from the hands of the undecided ones and those who make us doubt," concludes Summer.

— Oh ? It's rare that people know the symbolism of flowers.

— I read it in a book. And my last name is Rose, precisely !

— Then, may your path be safe, Miss Rose...

Summer smiled, and tied her rose to her white coat.

— Thank you. Get well.

The woman let her go before she got up. She closed her eyes and her white coat materialized around her shoulders, her hood concealing her face perfectly.

She smiled, touched by the innocence of this young woman who reminded her of the person she once was. With her ideals, her husband and her people at her side. She had thought of staying so for eternity. But destiny had reserved for her another path, full of blood, deads and tears. Still, she kept smiling, she had keep moving forward.

Until she comes here, lost in an endless conflict.

She hoped her gift would save the life of this young woman. The _signal_ left no hope to the colony, but the verdict wasn't pronounced for its inhabitants. She looked up at the sun still high in the sky.

Not yet. Not until the day was over ...


	9. Chapter 5 - Search

Qrow settled down on the terrace of a restaurant and ordered a glass of alcohol. He discreetly ogled the waitress's skirt as she wrote her order on a notebook.

Nevertheless, the most beautiful in his eyes was Summer. Perhaps he will succeed one day to confess... He will need a lot of glasses before that...

He turned his head towards the main street where the majority of people was walking. His eyes sharpened by years of hunting scrutinized every passerby. A man or woman in black or white coat... How to identify his target with so few of information ? Qrow readily admitted that he was talented. Very talented. But there, even talent would not suffice, he needed luck, and for him, luck was what he missed the most...

He only looked away for a moment to thank the waitress with a naughtly wink. He carried the glass to his lips and ran out of choke !

Orange juice ?! He had asked for alcohol !

— To avoid fighting, we don't sell alcohol on feast days," the waitress explained with a mischievous smile.

She returned to take care of the other clients after sending back her wink.

While muttering that he was thus made to have, he continued to watch the street. Ignoring the look that weighed on his back and his Huntsman's weapon...

* * *

Taiyang strode among the stands, pretending to be interested in the displays while looking for one of the Four. Here the crowd was too dense for him to see everything. The ideal hideaway. If he tried to find a high place, he would be immediately spotted... Yes, it wasn't surprising that the Four were so discreet.

His lilac eyes could not see behind the wall of invisibility the man in the white mantle pass a few meters from him...

The man in the white mantle passed by an individual and saw him surrounded by a Semblance. He stopped and his eyes rested on the blond young man with the brown jacket close to him. It was weak, but he perceived his Semblance. A Hunter here ? He kept this information in a corner of his head and resumed his route. As if the Grimms weren't enough, Huntermen had to get involved...

* * *

Raven quickly realized that rummaging through the streets was impossible, there were too many people, disappearing among them was easy but she wondered if the Four were really hiding among the population ? She looked at an alley that opened the way to a dark labyrinth between the buildings, deserted and out of prying eyes. Yes, if she were in their place, it was in this maze that she would hide. She entered armed only with a reduced version of her katana, easier to conceal on her.

The sound of her footsteps echoed through the walls despite her efforts to soften them. In any case, they wouldn't expect to be tracked by a human, would they ? But as she progressed through the tangle of alleys, she quickly realized that if someone had passed before her, this person had left no trace. Raven felt this was a step in the right direction. The Quatres left no traces of their passage, so it was the proof she was behind one of them ! She stopped in front of an intersection. To the left, a tramp was behind a dumpster, a bottle of alcohol at his feet. She gave him a disgusted look. Piteful. If his brother continued to get drunk, he would one day become like that piece of trash. But even the trashes had their utility... She advanced to him and kicked him to wake him up.

— Hey ?! What the fuck is wrong with...?

— Has anyone been here recently ?

— How should I know it ? Let me sleep !

She took out of her pocket a handfull of credits and threw them at her feet. The equivalent of two months' salary ! The tramp opened his eyes wide and held out an eager hand toward the money. This was the moment that Raven waited to push his foot in his hand! The man grimaced in pain but Raven had been gently with him. She knew that it was useless to strive on the weaks... If he was silent, it was mainly because he was too afraid that his cries would attract other people and that he would have to fight for the money.

— We start again: someone has been here recently ?

— Y-Yes !

— Who?

— A ... A man ! He was dressed in black!

— And his face?

She relaxed the pressure of her foot, telling him that he was on the right way to get his reward.

— I… I don't know ! He was wearing a hood, I couldn't see him.

— Where did he leave ?

— Over there !" He said, pointing to an alley behind him.

Raven was satisfied with his answers and raised his foot. The tramp profited of this to throw himself on the money. Pathetic…

She ventured in the direction indicated and walked among the darkness, all the senses on the alert. She felt that she was on the throes of a dangerous adversary, and this impression made her laugh. She was the Huntress, and them, the Grimms. Regardless of the situation, she had always been unscathed. And still today, it wasn't going to change.

She stopped very quickly : the lane led to a dead end. Had this tramp dared to lie to her ?

— **_What are you doing among the darkness ?_**

She widened her eyes, surprised. This voice... She never had such a sound. Opaque, empty of emotion, of life... A voice of death.

And then she felt it.

A shiver ran through her back. Behind her stood a crushing presence. How could she haven't felt it before ?! It was ... Powerful. Terrifying ! Big drops of sweat perched on his face. It was monstrous !

Slowly, his fingers squeezed around the handle of his katana. She rushed forward, brandishing her saber. Refusing to look behind her, she cut the space in front of her and went into the vortex that her Semblance activated !

The vortex led her to the gates of the town by which they had entered. In front of her, there was a soldier, stunned to see a woman appear from a dimensional portal. She was alone. And save. She blinked several times, not believing that she was spared. He could have attacked her while she was fleeing, but he had done nothing.

He had disappeared, as he had come, in the shadow of the day.

She gradually realized the divide that separated them ... She had faced the real power. To face the Grimms was nothing in comparison !

She believed she was the strongest of the STRQ team, the most formidable of all Vale Huntsmen. It was said everywhere that she was one of the best Huntsman of the decade, that she was destined for a promising future...

She discovered that she was nothing. A steep mountain stood abruptly in front of her and Raven did not know how to climb her ...

She took her scroll and contacted the rest of the team.

—It's Raven, I met one of them. The man in black. He spotted me...

* * *

The sun slowly began to decline over Mountain Glenn. Sitting around the restaurant table, Summer, Taiyang and Qrow listened to Raven's encounter with one of the Four. His brother listened without saying anything. He could not believe that his sister was spotted so easily. He knew better than anyone else his sister's abilities.

— And that's how I got myself," Raven concluded bitterly.

— It's not your fault," Taiyang consoled her.

— It could have happened to any of us," Summer said with a compassionate smile.

— Thank you.

Now, two things were certain: the one of the Four was the Man in Black. And he knew that Huntsmen were here for him. Had the Four already fled when they were being chased by humans ? Summer did not know. She was missing too much information on this.

— Well, what are we doing now ?" Asked Qrow.

The Huntsman knew they could not stop there.

— Ozpin didn't say we should go out if we were discovered, right?" Taiyang remarked.

— No, he didn't say it," Summer agreed.

— In any case, I don't intend to leave until I've captured him. It's a question of honor !" Raven said.

— Oh ? Do thieves have honor now ?" Said his brother.

His sister shot him with her eyes ! It was really not the time to start a family dispute.

— Here are your glasses !" Announced a waitress.

As usual, Summer had ordered a glass of milk, hoping to be able to grab a few more centimeters. Being the smallest while she was the leader of the group was a complex for her. Raven contented himself with a glass of water to soften the anger that tied her, leaving the two pints of beer to the men. Taiyang took his glass and tasted the liquid with pleasure. Through drinking with Qrow, he was able to resist several glasses without falling into drunkenness.

— How did you do Tai ?" Asked Qrow, looking at his own glass.

— Hmm ? About what ?

— To get some alcohol. It is fordidden during the festive season from what I've heard.

Taiyang raised an eyebrow. He had done nothing special. And to seduce women, he preferred to let Qrow do.

— I would be surprised... I saw stands offering liquors. I was almost surprised to not find you there, by the way.

It was Qrow's turn to seem surprised. He hailed the waitress under the curious looks of Raven and Summer.

— Qrow? What's the matter ?

— Your colleague left ?

— My colleague ?

— Yes, the woman who did the morning service. She told me that alcohol wasn't sold on feast days.

— I'm sorry ... But it's a man who takes care of it during the morning. And this law of which you are talking about no longer exists since at least ten years... Sir ?!

With a bound, Qrow has jumped out of his chair and rode out, immediately followed by the rest of the STRQ team ! They came behind him, watching him rummage around the street. There were far fewer people out there now than the day was going down, but he obviously did not find the one he was looking for. Taiyang approached him:

— Qrow? You think she was ...?

— Yeah ... Ten-year old news ... Who would have been wrong with something like that ? She was one of them too, Tai ! Damnit ! Because of my bad luck, I let her leave like the last of the morons !

He swore. Decidedly, it was a bad day for the Branwen

— Wait a moment," said Summer. Raven, were you far away from that inn when you saw the Man in black ?

— Yes... I see what you mean. If what the Headmaster said is correct, the Four are supposed to be separated for years. And there, there are two in the same city. It's too big to be a coincidence.

— And if Oz is right ... This can only mean one thing," Qrow understood.

— Mountain Glenn will soon be attacked.

Summer's already pale face lost its last colors.


	10. Chapter 6 - Aftereffect

— All right. I will reinforce the guard towers on the walls. If Grimms come forward, my men will welcome them as they should," Scharnhorst said.

— Thank you," said Summer with relief.

She had come to the chief of the soldiers to expose her fears about an attack by Grimms. Her reputation had probably helped her convince the veteran. The man turned his back while he was making coffee.

— And on your side ? Did you find the person you were looking for ?

— We can say that, yes…

She heard the tinkling of a spoon against the porcelain cup. Even if he didn't seem attentive, she was sure he was paying attention to each of her words. The rest confirmed her thoughts :

— I think it did not happen as planned…

— Let's say it's they who found us.

— Ah, I see… These are things that happen. There are several of them… You think they will try to flee ?

— I don't know… To be honest, this is the first time we meet them. No one had succeeded before.

— That proves you're better than the others," the veteran smiled as he handed her a cup.

He took a second cup and turned to the window of his desk.

— The doors of the enclosure are closed. Nobody comes in. There's nothing left but the train, I'm going to have to clear up the streets so that I can send people there…

Scharnhorst sighed as he scratched the back of his head.

— Sorry..." said Summer with embarrassment.

— You have your job to do and I have mine. If I can help you, it will be with joy," he said, drinking his coffee.

— Thank you. For everything.

— No worries, kiddo."

He winked at her and she burst out laughing. He smiled but stopped very quickly when he saw the sky glowing as the sun went down.

— The night is approaching.

Summer says nothing. She knew the meaning behind her words. Grimms' attacks were mostly at night, where the most primitive fears were awakened. A lighthouse in the night for these monsters.

— I sent two Bulleheads for a reconnaissance mission around Mountain Glenn. When they returned, they told me they had not seen anything.

A new sigh from Scharnhorst.

— I have machine guns, grenade-throwers, minefields, a huge air support, and several former Draconis veterans among my men. I consider Mountain Glenn as the safest colony of any Remnant. Yet, I have a bad feeling this evening ... It had not happened to me since my service.

He turned to Summer and looked her straight in the eye, peer-to-peer.

— Please promise me that you will protect the inhabitants of this city. They are honest people who just want to live in peace.

Summer looked back at him.

— As long as we are here, I promise you.

* * *

— The first time," said Raven.

Lying side by side on the roof of a building, Taiyang and her admired in silence the starry night. Since her encounter with the Man in Black, she was perplexed. In fact, she had thought a lot about her reasons for coming to Beacon. Flee the Tribe, follow his brother in Remnant and become the strongest. She thought she had become, but she was wrong. Ozpin had told her, however, that she would always meet a being stronger than she could be. Now that she had seen this man, she knew that the Headmaster was right. And she hated recognizing that Ozpin was right…

— The first time ?" repeated Taiyang.

— Do you remember the first time we met ?"

Tayiang smiled. How to forget ?

— I came from Signal, and when we met before the entrance examination, you beat me. You were looking for your partner for the rest of the studies…

— And in the forest, I chose you. Didn't you never wonder why ?

— I guess I was the least worst choice," he joked.

— You were a bit more serious than my brother… The reason is because you're the only one who didn't whine when I hit you.

Here, Raven had said it. She knew that Taiyang would find this criterion ridiculous, that he would be disappointed, that he thought he had something more than the others. But she had wanted to confide…

— Thank you," he said simply.

— Hey ? Why ?

— If you hadn't chosen me, I would never have lived all these adventures with you.

She smiled, but her face remained marble. She knew Taiyang's feelings about her, but she did not know if she was ready to accept them. She was a Huntress, but she remained the daughter of the chief of the Tribe. As Qrow would certainly refuse the succession, it would be up to her to take the torch. She couldn't imagine that he would adapt to this environnement. And less about founding a family.

— You're welcome.

— How do you plan to do it next time ?

She looked up at the full moon. Perfectly normal, a whitish disc which seemed to mingle with her natural pallor.

— You're not going to believe me but I already know how to beat him.

This statement was of interest to Taiyang.

— Oh, really ? How ?

— I must first verify if this idea is true.

— I hope you know what you're doing…

— Always.

* * *

He watched the moon rise.

Slowly pulling out of the horizon. Hunting the last gleams of dusk. Astre, as beautiful as it was sinister, it presented his face to-night. Perfect Ellipse…

There, in the midst of darkness, he waited.

He felt the wave coming. Dark. Terrible as the war. Devouring like fire.

He heard the forest tremble, the ambient air broken by the breaths, the grass agonized under the clawed feet.

The Grimms were too far from the defense systems of the colony, but close enough to perceive them.

He felt the excitement of hunting, the pleasure of shedding blood. The idea of killing was an appeal to which they could not - or did not - resist. And as he understood them… He too wanted to mingle with them, get lost among their rage and their fangs. Exterminate without asking why. To obey his vilest instincts.

He remained motionless, nothing betrayed his thoughts. He was only the shadow of himself. His body was young, but his soul was worn out, and he aspired only to tranquility.

He stopped listening, he had his answer anyway.

Not this night…

* * *

— Good evening.

The old innkeeper smiled at her, despite his reddened eyes at the lack of sleep. After all, she was her most delightful client.

— Hello Miss ! I hope you enjoyed the party !

— You can say that, yes. There were a lot of people out there.

— You have no idea ! According to the newspaper, it's a record ! There will even be a fireworks display tomorrow to celebrate this !

The beautiful blonde had a distant smile, a certain sadness in her eyes. It was like that since she had arrived three days ago. He would have liked to ask her what was wrong but did not dare to disturb her Such a beautiful woman should not seem so sad a cheerful day. Finally, he said nothing, and the woman went up the stairs in silence.

After twenty-five years of holding this hotel, the old man had ended up categorizing his clients according to their gestures. For this woman, the way she left a space at her side, he had her answer, but it was very sad : young widows…

Someone was missing to this woman. She was beautiful, more beautiful than all the women he had known. And yet, he would have preferred to hear her tears behind the door rather tant see her hide her grief and her absence behind a smile. It was a cruelty to herself, but it which probably revealed all the love she had for this beloved…

Even if it hurt her even more.

But the feelings were feelings and the job was the job. He made sure to hear the woman's door close before turning on her Scroll and typing a number. He opened a drawer and checked the search notice before his eyes until someone reached the end of the line :

— Good evening, I'd like to talk to Commander Scharnhorst. It's about a person…

* * *

— Terminal. Welcome to Mountain Glenn, said a voice in the speakers.

The underground station was illuminated by a system of mirrors that guided the daylight to the underground with such efficiency that one would have thought oneself outside. It was also here that the less wealthy inhabitants lived, settled here first to make them wait while the buildings were being built, and now that there were no more places, they were piled up here to avoid exposing this taint to the visitors on the surface.

— Charment as home," commented a man with black hair and green eyes, wearing a gray overcoat with yellow linings.

— Who cares ?" growled an orange-haired man wearing a navy blue coat and aviator glasses around his neck. This place will soon be a ruin.

— Before the devastating fire comes the verdant forest. Why not enjoy it ?

The three others said nothing. They were here for Salem and she had decided on the destruction of this city. For nothing in the world they would refuse such an order.

Their leader pulled out a pair of fingerless gloves and put them on.

— Well, Gentlemen, it's time to find the Four. Remain vigilant, our source told us that Vale Hunters are here and it's the team STRQ.

— We'll take care. Nothing else ?

— Yes, one detail : if you come across Sélénée, leave her to me.


	11. Chapter 7 - Hello, Sélénée

— Hum-hum ... Yes. Very good. No, tell him that he will be paid once we are sure that it's her.

Scharnhorst hung up and turned to Summer, perplexed.

— A witness declares to lodge in his hotel a blond woman with blue eyes and a white coat. Exactly like the description of your Woman in white.

— A third ?!

— It starts to do a lot of wanted persons for a small colony.

Summer took her head in her hands, trying to understand the reason of this gathering.

— But why here ?

— You're the Huntress, it's up to you to tell me.

— Where is she ?

— Not far from here, about ten minutes I'd say...

— I warn my team !

* * *

The tattoo hidden under a make-up and her long black hair tied in a bun, she served coffee in another restaurant under an alias. The manager was urgently looking for a replacement and had not hesitated a second while seeing her. Such beauty certainly would bring more customers here ! For her, it was a boon : bars and restaurants were the best places to collect information. The talkative old men and the soldiers at rest represented a wealth of information that she knew how to exploit.

She learned of the existence of the Huntsmen team from Vale. So Ozpin had sent his Boy Scouts for her ? She did not know why, but that explained the wanted poster…

The question was : How did they know she would be here ? The existence of Ozpin and theirs was different, he wasn't able to perceive the _signal_...

She heard the door open in her back and she turned, as good as a waitress.

— Welcome.

His breath failed her. In front of her stood an old acquaintance: a very muscular man wearing a two-tone olive green coat, with brown hair, a beard. The tanned complexion and the intimidating hazel look.

It was not the first time she encountered a threatening individual, but something in her instinctively awoke. Something was wrong with this individual, but she didn't know yet what it was.

She stood motionless in front of him and he looked at her from above, as he did for everybody given his size. He stared at her for a long time and she felt her body stiffen, ready to flee at the slightest hostile gesture.

— A glass. Please.

His voice was gravelly and deep, heatless. A rough sound to her ears, the voice of an insensitive individual, corroded by the harshness of life and by the collusive weight of his objective. She revealed her most beautiful smile before him and presented him a place.

— Of course sir. Please have a sit.

He sat in front of the counter without looking at her any longer. She looked at him and saw the presence of an Aura in him, deeply hidden by a powerful shadow that served as a camouflage. She recognized the signature of this concealment and her breath fell. They were already there !

As soon as she made sure that the man was turning his back, she quickly slipped away towards the kitchen. She passed in a whirlwing in front of the cook and the other waitress of the restaurant, both of them surprised to see her rushing by throwing her clothes on the floor.

— Hey ! What's happening ?

— I resign.

Before he had replied, she had already put on her coat and went out through the back door.

To fall nose to nose with Arthur Watts.

—Hello Sélénée.

...

Sélénée looked at Arthur in silence, astonished to see him again after so many years... Unchanged. He always had his eternal gray overcoat with yellow linings. His eyes were still green, and his hair black. The only difference with her memories was the first signs of a mustache on his lips. He'd always said he'd grow one when he was older... No ! Now wasn't the time to think about it !

— You haven't changed," she said in a frigid voice.

— I told you that was what I was planning.

The last time she'd seen him was more than twenty years ago. So, he had truly bound himself to _her_.

— Waitress, right ? This outfit maded you strangely delighted. The bun, a little less...

There was always in his voice the intonation of desire, as before... Except that he had betrayed her. And too many had suffered from this treachery.

Was it because _her_ acolytes were here that the _signal_ had brought her here ?

— I read the surprise on your face, why ? You didn't expect that Salem was going to let you kill her little soldiers without flinching, Daughter of the Father ?

She frowned, irritated at being called by him.

— Do not call me like that ! He never considered us as such !

— Oh, forgive me... I forgot that you have no family but the name. It's so sad.

His way of apologizing was even more insulting, but she could only clench her fists without acting. Attacking here, so close to the civilians, was too dangerous... And they knew it.

— What if we go on to serious matters ?" she heard.

Behind Arthur she saw a pale man with a long ponytail and a brown coat. He looked profoundly annoyed at wasting his time by talking. Just like her.

— Forgive Tyrian, he is promising but still lack of patience. You know how young people are, don't you ? It does not matter, we'll have plenty of time to talk to each other in my queen's estate.

— Do you really think I'll follow you very docilely ?

Arthur raised his hands, voluntarily exposing his gloves. These gloves she had offered him...

 _In the end, our curse is endless, is not it ?_ She thought sadly.

She put her hand to her head and pulled out the two chopsticks that held her bun and pulled them, leaving her long black hair running down her back and over her shoulders. As she used to wear them, as at that time when he had known her...

— Arthur Watts... I told you that if you really joined _her_ , I'll kill you the next time I see you.

She crushed the chopsticks in her hand as if they were twigs.

— I remember something like that, yes.

He sighed, not out of disappointment, but out of boredom.

— Is that how it is, I suppose I have no choice...

She heard a noise in her back, as silent as the wind. She turned her head as her instinct screamed at danger. His brain recorded a massive fist, a large silhouette in the shadow of the bearing and in the background, the lifeless bodies of the cook and waitress, their necks at an unusual angle.

With one bound, she avoided the attack of the man which exploded the ground where it was the previous instant !

— Oh... It seems that I forgot to mention Hazel during the presentations. Forgive me, our meeting has subjugated me and I forgot my good manners, said Arthur with malignance.

She landed in the middle of the trio and Tyrian attacked, leaving Arthur back.

Sélénée had lived many wars before. Also being surrounded and assaulted from every side was nothing new to her. She avoided with equal skill the blades attached to Tyrian's bracelets and the devastating fists of Hazel. Her gestures were fluid, reactive, almost graceful in the melee. The world around her had become her enemy and she seemed to dance in that hell.

She leaned back and Tyrian's blades brushed against her chinstrap.

With a step aside, she avoided the fist of Hazel who exploded the wall beside her, the dust blinded both for a few moments...

Behind her !

She turned on herself and struck with a stroke of her elbow into Tyrian's belly while avoiding the blades at the ends of his arms. He let out a muffled oath and she gave him a powerful kick in the middle of the temple, sending him into a wall several meters away.

She turned to Hazel and Arthur and pulled out of her cloak her scythe-umbrella she used against Count Dimer.

— Next," she said coldly, raising her blade towards them.

Hazel made a menacing step toward her but stopped when hearing Arthur behind him.

— Leave her to me, Hazel, I'm afraid somebody like you is not up to her.

Hazel let out a growl but pulled away, staring at his acolyte angrily. Arthur did not care, he had eyes only for her. Selene looked at him too, but without any feeling in his head, the past was over and he was now her enemy.

— Do you really think you can win ? You are but a man without Semblance. You have no chance.

— Oh, I do not doubt it. You always had an excellent memory. But you see, Her majesty has offered me several gifts to take care of you.

He pulled his hand away from his chest but nothing happened. Sélénée nevertheless prepared herself for any danger.

She saw a strange phenomenon: around Arthur, the tar floor and the concrete debris of the house began to sizzle and smoke under the intensity of a supernatural heat. Sélénée understood, but what she saw was...

— …Impossible…

Arthur quietly began to walk towards her, indifferent to what surrounded her, an enigmatic smile on her lips.

— Not for my Queen.

After the surprise, Sélénée realized that it wasn't so surprising. _She_ was the other side of Life, that _she_ has the same powers wasn't so astonishing... A prolonged life and a destructive Semblance. Everything he could have dreamed of...

— Your queen is very cowardly to send you to her place.

Hazel took a step in her direction... before changing his mind. He folded his arms and turned his head away, as if this combat had no longer any interest in his eyes. She did not understand. He has no reason to abandon the fight. Except if…

This time she did not react fast enough when she heard the noise behind her. A stab struck her at the lower back. The pain and pressure of the blade caused her to swing forward and it was only by her will that she managed to put one foot in front of her to keep from falling on her knees before them. Arthur stopped walking and immediately the smoke vanished around him. He smiled with deceptive gentleness.

She turned her head and discovered Tyrian, her yellow eyes turned blue as a foul tail of scorpion sank even more into her flesh...

A faunus ...?!

— Appearances are deceptive, Daughter of the Father," he said, chasing away the blood that flowed from a notch on his forehead.

Tyrian turned his sting in the wound and Sélénée let out a cry, drawing from her to keep from falling. She felt the poison circulating in her veins, gradually paralyzing her limbs, her muscles. Her mind got confused, she could not think properly, stars shone before her eyes... Her teeth were tight as possible but she managed to articulate to the attention of her assailant.

— The smell…

— Hey ?" said Tyrian. Oh, it's true that the stone that melts is ragoutant but we get there quickly enough ...

— The smell of Faunus is special... Aah... They... have a very powerful animal part... Impossible to confuse it...

Tyrian turned to Arthur, waiting for an order that did not come.

— What are you saying ?" Athur asked with suspicion.

An evil smile appeared on Sélénée's face. A smile of death, madness and slaughter... The incarnation of a crazy monster !

— I'm just saying that when I confront a faunus, I take my precautions. For example…

Suddenly she straightened up as if the pain had fallen silent. Tyrian saw her turn towards him, while his tail continued to inject a quasi-lethal quantity into her body ! Sélénée's eyes rested on him like a bird on an insect.

— You're immune ?" realized too late Tyrian.

A black and enormous Scythe materialized in her hand. On the other hand, she grabbed his throat and placed the blade on his throat, a cruel smirk on her lips. This time, it was Tyrian who was paralyzed by discovering for the first time the power and the dangerousness of one of the Four !

— **I am the Grim Reaper, and for you, the time has come…**


	12. Chapter 8 - It has begun

— Headmaster, you were right. We have located at least two of the Four in Mountain Glenn ! But they spotted us. We will continue our research in the city...

Ozpin no longer listened to Summer's report. Standing in front of one of the windows of his office, his face turned towards the horizon, he felt it.

— It has begun…

* * *

Rare were those who felt the power of Sélénée. There was no wind. No shaking. Just the cold.

An icy chill.

Scharnhorst caught up with Summer as she swayed, a hand tight on her chest. She had the impression that a dagger was plunging into her heart. What she felt was unquestionably related to the Aura. But on a dizzying scale compared to her !

— Are you fine ?!

— It's… It's… It's insane...!

— What ? What is happening ?!

— It's so ... Powerful ...!

...

Hazel felt all the power that Sélénée really possessed and henceforth understood why Salem was so desirous of the Four. If they fell under her grasp, humanity would be over.

Facing him, Selene was holding Tyrian, ready to decapitate him without the least pity. At that moment she was no longer ... Human. Her Aura emanated from her body in the form of a disturbing black mist. Everything that came into contact with this substance disintegrated into dust. A terrible defense, but the worst was not that, nor the wounds it caused to Tyrian, paralyzed by the power of his target… No, the worst was his eyes.

While slowly injuring her prey, Sélénée fixed her eyes on Arthur and him. A shudder of pure terror descended along Hazel's back. The woman's eyes had changed…

...

Two incandescent stones, magnetic, red as blood.

Slashed in their center by reptilian pupils.

Who seemed to chain him, to nail him on the spot. Impossible to escape them…

A hard, icy look, from which sprang a flash of pure hatred, addressed to the entire universe.

A monstrous look.

Directed against him. Against all the living beings of Remnant.

...

It was a mistake to have attacked her with only three. Even with their powers offered by Salem, they could not compete. But Arthur remained stoical before her. Both of them had clashed twenty years ago, and he had declared how to overcome her.

— You made three mistakes.

Sélénée looked at him in silence. Perhaps she was no longer able to speak ?

— It must be hard to materialize your scythe in your state. To be pursued without resting, like a hunted beast…You must not have much energy in you. This demonstration of strength must cost you a great deal. This is your first mistake.

He held out a finger, then a second.

— Second mistake : It took twenty years to Her majesty for this moment to arrive. I will not spoil it in vain.

At his words, Tyrian's eyes lit up. The pain of the black mist on his skin was negligible compared to the training received by Salem. Very slowly, he clenched his fists, his gesture activated a mechanism hidden in his bracelets.

Sélénée did not look at him, all her attention was concentrated on Arthur and Hazel. Her weapon was still stuck to his throat, but he was beginning to feel slight tremors in her grasp… Arthur was obviously right : releasing her Aura seemed to be a heavy tribute to Sélénée.

Arthur took note of the discreet nod of the "prisoner" but feigned indifference. He looked at Sélénée with his mocking expression, but in his head he was thinking at full speed. The noises of the fight were likely to attract the attention of the soldiers of Mountain Glenn or even worse… A battle on two fronts was far from being a possible solution in the current situation. She had to be captured as soon as possible. Tyrian will only need a moment to act and he knew how to give him this moment…

— And your last mistake was not to have killed me twenty years ago.

There was nothing to reveal Sélénée's trouble except Tyrian, who felt the pressure of the scythe slacken for a moment.

A decisive moment.

He jumped back and pointed his machine guns at her.

...

— You heard it ? It was shooting !" Taiyang said as they ran toward the power source.

— Someone else seems to be interested in the Four !" Raven answered without stopping.

...

A terrible noise was heard when Sélénée's foot fell like an ax on Tyrian's skull and thrust him into the concrete floor ! Hardly had he fired that the riposte had been launched with a relentless strike. Behind his marble face, Hazel could not believe it. He had seen the bullets touch her, how could she still stand ? Then he saw through the tears of his coat his skin intact.

The bullets had ricocheted on them. Like a cuirass.

As for Tyrian, all he could see was his arms, spread out on the floor. He was unable to determine his condition, at best he was unconscious, at worst…

Sélénée laid her scythe on her shoulders without any apparent effort. Her apparent trouble had dissipated as soon as she had struck. And the power she liberated was never so dreadful, as the fear she inspired through her reptilian eyes

Arthur himself now displayed an expression of discomfort, also hurt by his proximity to her.

— So that's what I felt… You managed to get all your energy back !

Sélénée smirked.

— Twenty years ago, when we separated, I went north to Solitas. You must know, it's a cold and hard land. So inhospitable that no Grimm prowled it. There, I began to recover my energy while the others fled through Remnant. I don't have the power of Raptor, or Raptoria. But if they had disappeared, _She_ would have done everything to find them. But me…

— Then it was a trap," Arthur realized." How ironic ! The real hunter was you from the beginning.

She began to advance towards them, bringing her scythe into her hands. It was time for her to finish it. Both knew that the shots were going to bring all the soldiers of the colony.

— You are the striking force. While the others were making a diversion, you were preparing for the hunt we were about to make. Impressive.

— Your compliments will not save you."

He closed his eyes, amused by her words.

— Who says I ask for salvation ?

Hazel interposed between her and his leader. He looked at Sélénée with a mix of animosity, respect and fear.

— I have orders.

She returned him a look full of pity and amusement.

— I know.

She raised her scythe to cut him in two and he raised his arms in a vain attempt to stop her. There were no miracles.

...

There was something else.

The long slender blade screech on Hazel's skin, tearing it deep enough to reveal a flesh made of metal and hydraulic cylinders. Tendons of steel cables connected to his nervous system animated the pistons and the mechanical rollings of his hand.

A prosthesis on the forearm.

...

— Oh ?" Was all that Sélénée could say at that moment.

Blocking the weapon with his left arm, Hazel had already thrown his right fist back to smash her rib cage, a blow that Sélénée managed to stop in extremis by grabbing his fist with her own hand. At the sensation of her fingers about to break, she guessed that her right arm was also provided with a prosthesis.

She detected movement at the periphery of her field of vision.

Getting around the two fighters, Arthur attacked her in the back, holding out a dangerous hand to her nape. To avoid the danger, she had no choice but to block him with her foot. Her shoe instantly began to boil and burn. At this rate, her leg would soon know the same fate…

But only one leg to support Hazel's superhuman strength was not enough, she felt bending before him as already her foot was already dangerously hot ! She had to act quickly.

She took a deep breath and unveiled her monstrous red eyes at Hazel. He tried to remain insensitive in spite of the quasi-animal aversion he felt for those eyes, and something happened.

The resistance she opposed to him ceased abruptly. More specifically, she ceased to appear in difficulty. Her fingers around his steel fist tightened, and with a terrible metallic creaking, crush it like paper.

He gasped. It was an alloy of titanium and tungsten, the most resistant metals in the world ! Then he heard another creaking and saw the blade of the scythe thrust into the superalloy of his left prosthesis. She no longer tried to cut it, but to break it by force !

— Arthur!

— I'll take care of her," Watts said.

It was this moment when the pressure that Hazel put up against her stopped to retreat that she swung around with amazing suppleness, again manipulating her scythe on her flank to decapitate Arthur. His life was saved only by releasing what remained of her shoes to avoid the blade.

Once again free from her movements, Sélénée was facing Arthur, while in her back Hazel seemed to remain on the defensive with his stump of right arm.

Her shoe had finished burning, and she pulled out her foot from that piece of blackened leather. Hazel had expected to see a limb blackened like coal and a flesh without skin, cracking like glass. The fate of all those who had the misfortune to cross the road of Arthur. What he saw was very different, and terrifying.

Where the heat should have ravaged the foot, black scales had pushed from her skin to protect her. Scales, like a reptile. How was such a thing possible ? He knew that the Four weren't Faunus.

— You're the last one," she said to Arthur.

This time she no longer smiled, and her condescending air was but a vague recollection. Now both of them were going to get down to business and settle accounts that had been suspended for twenty years. One of them emitted a sinister black mist capable of annihilating everything in its contact, the other a heat more formidable than the surface of the Sun.

* * *

She looked up at the window of her hotel room, recognizing Sélénée's Aura in Mountain Glenn but part of her did not believe in it. Her sister could not be here at the same time, the _signal_ couldn't allow it ! So that meant that Salem's trackers had been thrown at them. Obviously, they had fallen into Sélénée's trap. It was necessary to find a way to evacuate the city. But every thing in its time, first Sélénée... Once her white coat on her shoulders, she went out of her room and quickly descended the stairs, trying to keep her calm and smile become usual for the regulars of the hotel. Only the innkeeper seemed surprised to see her leaving in the middle of the day.

— But ...? Wait, mademoiselle ! Where are you going ? The… The lunch will soon be served !

— I'm sorry, but it's an emergency," she apologized.

She closed the door of the hotel and felt the twenty soldiers behind her back even before hearing them. They advanced towards her, covering each other, in an impressive silence despite their equipment. She turned and remained motionless. Two soldiers were stationed on each side of the door, while the rest of the section joined them forming a circle around her. At their head she recognized the famous commander Scharnhorst, and beside her, the young Huntress whom she had met yesterday.

Quietly, she began to walk.

— Prepare yourself," Scharnhorst ordered.

Nod of all.

She approached the commanding officer without showing any hostile gesture.

— Go for it.

The two soldiers near the door crushed it with a violent kick while the rest rushed inside. She heard cries of surprise and chairs flipping over but continuing to walk, taking care not to be touched by the soldiers passing next to her without seeing her.

— Mountain Glenn Defense Force ! Nobody move !

— But…! But what's going on here ?!" moans a terrified customer.

She walked next to Scharnhorst, then by the Huntress, and for a few moments she looked at her and her white coat like hers. On her chest, at the level of the heart, she had tied the white rose that she had given him yesterday. She closed her eyes and smiled tenderly.

— Thank you.

Summer blinked as she heard a voice beside her, she turned but saw nothing. Maybe she was wrong but…

— Miss Summer ? This way," Scharnhorst called her.

She turned to him and followed the commander when they both appeared before the innkeeper.

— Is it you, for the notice of search ?

— I… Yes, but…!

— Where is she ?

The old man seemed to faint.

— What ?! But you must have seen her ! You entered the moment after she left !

The commander looked at him, raising an inquiring eyebrow, as did Summer.

— Excuse me ?" they exclaimed simultaneously.

* * *

— HQ, it's Patrol 15. RAS in the streets. Over.

The radio sizzled in the guardhouse that guarded the west gate of Mountain Glenn. It was a birthday today for one of the guards. Everyone was gathered there to have fun and participate in the festival in their own way.

— Here Patrouille 2, RAS in the train station.

Someone turned off the radio.

The room filled with festive decorations was silent now. The guards were there, but all lay on the ground, their bodies were horrible to see, and the walls and floor were covered with their blood and flesh. Among them were two individuals still standing, indifferent to the carnage around them.

— Exactly as our source indicated. A real child's play," said the one with the orange hair, wiping the blood that had spurted on his aviator glasses.

— Nobody will come here before tonight," said the other, a gray-haired man who was pirating the computer from the enclosure's armored door." Now, let's take care of the others.

— Gladly ! Oh, this night is going to be a hell of a show !

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Phew ! Finally finished ! Uh... the chapter eh ? Not the story rest assured ! ^^**

 **It was hard to find inspiration for this chapter, I had lots of ideas but I did not know how to put them together and make them coherent.**

 **Finally, I will move on to the next, and the action will go up crescendo! Blood of sweat and tears (for me who must write my text in French and then spend the night translating it, and correct it and translate it again ...!)**

 **In short ! My exams are approaching so the release will be longer but no worries, I do not forget you !**

 **One last word : thanks to dragonsage1993 for being the first to be my Story Follower and Epic Zealot Productions 2.0 for being the first to adding me to his Favorite Authors list and my story in his Favorite Stories list!**

 **YOU'RE THE BEST !**

 **It's gratifying to know that people like what we do.**


	13. Chapter 9 - A true Huntsman

_Many years ago, in a place of darkness, where no light could bright. He was here, kneeling in front of Her, waiting till she deigns to address him. He had returned unscathed but without the Four, and for that he knew his punishment would live up to his failure ..._

— _You're back, I'm delighted," she finally said._

— _Thanks, Ma'am. I regret unfortunately that this is the only good news to announce._

— _On the contrary, Watts._

— _Ma'am ?_

— _You have eliminated the last protectors of the Four. Now they have nowhere to take refuge._

— _But they separated," he pointed out." Our research to find them will take years to come._

— _Time is not a problem._

 _She was silent and Arthur saw appear at his feet a pillar containing a case._

— _Take it._

 _He held out his hands toward the case and opened it without fear. Inside was a dagger, beautifully decorated. But the most remarkable was the material of the blade, made of a perfect silver and without blemishes._

— _I will give you a strength to which no Huntsman can compete, and as soon as I rally the Four in one place, you will act._

— _As you wish, Ma'am. But how could I succeed in confronting them ?_

— _That weapon you hold… will know what to do._

...

— Are you kidding me ? How could a woman disappear in front of more than twenty trained soldiers ?!

— But is the truth !

While Scharnhorst and the old innkeeper were quarreling, Summer felt her chest tighten again. She leaned against a commode under a window. Looking out, she forgot her pain.

— Commander…?

Scharnhorst turned his head towards her and saw the halo of light blinding through the window. Without losing a moment, he rushed to the Huntress and threw her to the ground.

— Everybody, GET DOWN !" he yelled at the moment when the shock wave shattered the windows and threw against the walls the unfortunates who had not followed his order in time.

Hazel could not believe it. He knew what power Salem had offered to Arthur Watts and the extent of his strength, like that of Sélénée. But what he saw left him terrifying.

All around him the buildings were nothing but ruins and ashes, which the mist had not disintegrated, the heat had melted it. And all this in a few moments ... He heard the rales of the people caught in the rubble, the hundreds of cries, he saw the flames all around him… He felt like he was on a battlefield.

A shadow was discerned for a moment in the smoke before disappearing. It was impossible to know who it was. All he perceived from the titanic combat was the sound of the blades clashing around him. They amplified faster and faster as the fight increased in intensity. Who took advantage in this confrontation ?

A scream was heard and Sélénée's scythe flew before him before sinking into the ground. The next moment she appeared in the air and landed on the shaft of her weapon, standing straight on her weapon facing Arthur, who in turn came up from the smoke, a dagger in his hand, made of silver . His clothes were torn in several parts of the body, and blood was shed by various wounds, none of which, however, were mortal. The situation was different for Sélénée, who was suffering from a deep wound in her chest. Curiously, no scales seemed to have protected him from the dagger.

— So it was true," said Arthur, contemplating the blade of his weapon." You can not protect yourself from this weapon. More precisely, from this metal…

He put two fingers to the edge and pulled out the blood that permeated it.

— Are you still sure you can defeat me ? You've got a punctured lung.

She looked at her wound and shrugged her shoulders.

— Come on… I've had things much worse than that.

— Oh, I doubt not, Daughter of the Father. For now, you can hold on. But as you move, you're going to drown yourself in your own blood.

She did not smile this time. Even if they stood at a respectable pace, he could see her blood bubbling at each inspiration. Surely she was using her Aura to anesthetize her pain, otherwise she would be unable to stand upright in balance. She looked like a bruised angel perched high up at the end of her weapon. Even covered with blood and despite her terrifying gaze, she remained beautiful and indomitable. But unlike her sister, she didn't hide behind an attitude of Saint. She was and lived as she wished, a predator at the top of the chain of the Evolution. Humans and faunus were prey that she deliberately ignored until the day when hunger awoke in her. But now he came to her to make her fall from her throne in the name of a future she could not stop.

Sélénée looked at him suspiciously. She had not expected him to be in possession of such a weapon. With such an injury, her plan of action was reduced to nothing. She had only a few minutes left before being unable to fight. If she had to kill him, it would have to be done with the next move, it was her last chance…

— If you want to run away, I won't hold you back.

— Oh, what a nice intention on your part," smirked Sélénée again." But I can't believe you would let me go when to find us is so difficult.

— Pursuing you was very hard, but you're not the only one to have drawn up a plan. Don't you think we would have attacked you with only three men if we knew you were here ?

Sélénée did not reply, her smirk was only a facade inside, she thought exactly the same. Knowing _her_ , _she_ should have sent an entire army of Grimms and the members of the Circle to capture her. But they were only three and the Circle was always composed of six members, where was the other half ? Why attack her with three…? No… It wasn't the good question… How did they found her so quickly ?

She already knows the answer…

— You found a way to insert yourself into the _signal_ …

— I would like to be as deserving as you would like, but for once, this exploit isn't my doing.

— So who !? Even if you have infiltrated the _signal_ , you can't have controlled it to lead me here !

— That's true. I think you haven't been wary enough of your allies.

She understood, but refused to believe it.

— The Guardian ?

Scharnhorst straightened up slowly, coughing. The hotel had suffered from the explosion, the floors had collapsed on the ground floor and the entire room was clogged with dust. He checked the state of Summer he had protected from fallling debris.

— You are okay ?

— Y-Yes ... I think ...

— Good… * Cough * Everyone ... * Cough * Give me a Sit-Rep !

— Jimmy is dead, I think !" shouted a voice in the dust.

As the survivors regained consciousness, a uproar of despair rose in the rubble.

— Oh… Oh shit ! Come help me ! I piss the blood !

— Help ! My wife…! She's stuck under a beam !

— There's fire !

— Damn, that has to come from the kitchen !

— Evacuate the civilians !" Scharnhorst ordered.

He looked for Summer, she couldn't to be far away… Here ! Her cloak became gray by the dirt but he recognized her despite everything. The young Huntress was kneeling before the innkeeper's body. The old man had been thrown against a wall, and his face was shattered by glasses. he knew by seeing his empty eyes that there was nothing to do for him.

— Come.

— But… !

He seized her arm and forced her to look at him.

— It's too late ! Hurry up before everything collapses on us !

He literally dragged her out of the building before the building collapsed ! On the twenty soldiers there were only eight able-bodied men at Scharnhorst, the others were wounded or dead. And the condition of the civilians wasnt' better. All suffered more serious injuries than the soldiers.

— Contact all units present ! We have to take the wounded to the hospital, and we must know what it is that…

He turned like his men towards the source of the explosion in the heart of the city. A gigantic cloud of smoke escaped, people fleeing the streets, heading for a safe place. Some did not even hesitate to jostle the others in general panic.

— For God Sake…

Summer looked at the commander, not knowing what to say for… To say what in the end ? He saw his dreams of a city in peace collapse before his eyes. What words could comfort those with shattered hopes ?

— Commander…

— Check your weapons and equipment !" he ordered in a bitter voice.

His men obeyed and began to removing the safety of their rifles. Summer watched them without understanding.

— What are you doing…?

— Commander !" says a radio operator." I've no contact with the guard posts at the gates! And it's the same for the HQ !

— So we're on our own.

This time, Summer repeated with more will.

— What are you doing ?

The soldiers looked at her without saying anything. It was the Draconis's veteran to speak on their behalf.

— My men and I are going to see what's going on there," he explained, pointing to the smoke in the distance.

— But… It's probably the work of one of the Four ! You haven't seen it but their Aura are…!

— Miss Rose, I appreciate that you care about us. But we are soldiers, we fight to protect our home. And this place is our home.

She tried to reason with them. They had to understand that they would risk their lives unnecessarily!

— But you're just nine men against a powerful being ! What do you think will happen if… !

— Even if I'm alone and my arms and legs are broken, I'll crawl over there !

— I can't let you go ! You may die !

— So what ?

Summer looked at him, unable to answer. The commander put a hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear :

— Keep your promise.

Then he turned to his men and took a rifle.

— Come on, guys !

— Understood ! It was an honor, Chief !

His men put their fists in front of their chests. Scharnhorst imitated them.

— See you up there. And don't forget that the first one who leaves will pay the tour !

He took the lead of the group and disappeared among the crowd.

— You want me to believe that the Guardian betrayed us ?!" said Sélénée, bewildered

— Oops… Maybe I said too much," said Arthur with a false innocence.

She jumped to the ground and with a movement of the hand unearthed her fake. An almost animal fury burned in her reptilian eyes ! He tensed up, ready to avoid the next attack. The slightest false step and she would kill him without hesitation.

— **In that case, I'll take care of him after you've cut off my head !** " she said with her terrifying voice.

— Impossible.

— Why this ?

— I've already won.

— I don't think so, pal," said a voice in the smoke.

The two opponents turned in the direction of the source of the voice. She came from an individual who had dark spiky hair and red eyes. With a red cloak, he was wearing a two-tone gray dress shirt with a long tail and black dress pants. He nonchalantly held his big sword on his shoulder.

Arthur looked at him and recognized him almost immediately.

— Qrow Branwen ... So, a true Huntsman has entered the fray.


	14. Chapter 10 - A Overwhelming Resistance

— Hello, you are at the Headquarters of the Mountain Glenn Defense Force. This is an automatic message. We are unable to respond to you right now. What is your request ?

— Shit ! What's going on here ?! There's explosions everywhere ! Why the soldiers are not there ?!

— Hello, you are at the Headquarters of the Mountain Glenn Defense Forces...

— My husband is wounded ! I can't contact emergency !

— Hello…

— Help !

Audio messages scrolled through the communication room, but none of the operators could answer. All were lying, bathed in their own blood. And this was not just about the operators : everyone in the HQ belonged to the kingdom of the dead…

…

— Qrow Branwen ?" Sélénée remembered." The Crow Huntsman ?

— I see that my reputation precedes me.

The woman in black slowly turned to him and her two reptilian eyes made him tremble in spite of himself. He felt in these two opponents a similarity with the creatures of Grimm… Being so close to these two was terribly testing for him and he tried to calm the trembling of his body to focus on the upcoming fight. Then he noticed in the woman the trickles of blood flowing on the ground and the sound of her jerky breathing… She was seriously wounded ! How had this man manage to hurt her ?! He knew that the Four were much stronger than him, and this man who faced him was as formidable as they were… But who the hell he was and why was he attacking her ?

— What is the reason for the presence of a member of the team in these… (Arthur looked around him, as if he were discovering the ruins around him for the first time.) Let's say, dilapidated places ?

— Well… Sorry to disturb you, but I'm going to ask you to leave this woman alone.

Arthur looked at him now with an evil intention. The Huntsman was no longer a troublemaker but an additional obstacle to overcome to get Sélénée.

— Out of the question. I will not leave until I have taken this woman with me.

— So I think we have a problem," Qrow said, taking a stand against him.

A scythe interposed between them, that of the woman in black. Despite her injuries, she refused to let him join her.

— You are not in condition to fight!" he protested.

— Don't hold me up now ! I don't need your help against him !

As she spoke, blood began to flow from her lips. Arthur shook his head before her pitiful condition.

Qrow could not know she was interfering to protect him. Facing Arthur and his mysterious power, he had no chance.

— Go away, envoy from Ozpin. I won't follow you neither.

Her voice was a barely audible breath.

— Mountain Glenn is doomed. If you want to make yourself useful, evacuate as many people as possible… You can do nothing against him.

— As long as we do not try, we can't know.

She sighed. Then he felt the danger when the blade of her scythe suddenly stood and stopped right before his throat. This time, the two draconic eyes of the woman fixed him with a dangerous intensity. She was wounded, but still refused any help. He could not help but compare her to a fierce animal. Now, her voice began to be cold, emotionless.

— **Fool… You must have a death wish.**

It wasn't just a impression, Qrow was sure of it… She… The Four… They weren't human.

Yet, he managed to smile despite his fear.

— Nope… I'm just a Huntsman.

…

At the same time Raven and Taiyang arrived near the field of ruins. Curiously, despite the desolation of the place, there was a man sitting on a piece of concrete that looked at them with a quiet smile. He had orange hair, wore a navy blue coat and aviator glasses around his neck. Taiyang wanted to approach him, tell him to go and take refuge with the others, but Raven held him back.

— Watch out for that one," she warned.

He did not move, but his smile stretched to reveal his teeth.

— Oh, finally a real Huntsman ! Until now, they always realized the danger too late. You have instinct ! What betrayed me ? My angel smile ?

— You stink blood. Even from here, I can smelt it.

He raised an eyebrow and briefly sniffed at his clothes.

— Oh ? Correct. You have a good nose. Not very surprising after all. Killing a few hundred soldiers must leave traces.

He took his glasses and put them before his eyes before getting up from his rustic chair. He looked at Raven and Taiyang and held out a hand in front of him while saying out

loud :

— May the wrath of heaven befall my enemies !

Then the heavens darkened at his words and the lightning struck his hand outstretched. Yet he felt no harm, neither blood nor burning afflicted his skin. Instead, a spear made of electricity stood in his fist. Facing him, the two Huntsmen tensed up, ready to face this murderer.

— Ready or not, here I come…

…

Summer had followed the crowd to the station where a large part of the population already gathered. The few soldiers on the spot tried to organize some semblance of order to speed up the evacuation and avoid a general panic. There was no more seat in the train, and those who had not been able to board were obliged to follow the tracks leading to Vale, which was several hundred kilometers inside the tunnel, but the unfortunate inhabitants of the Colony had no other choice. An uncontrollable fire began to spread in the colony after the explosion. Soon it will spill throughout Mountain Glenn.

A soldier recognized the Huntress and approached him. He questioned her.

— Miss Rose ! Where's the Commander ?

— On the site of the explosion.

A detonation resounded from the immense cloud which rose from the downtown to the sky like the smoke of a volcano. Ominous omen in perspective…

— What a crazy bastard… You came for _that_ ? He asked.

— I… I'm not sure.

She came convince four people to follow her to Beacon. She had never heard of such explosions at the Four's passage. It was not every day that bombs exploded in cities. Was it a coup from a radical branch of the White Fangs ?

— Do you see that bell tower above the church? A section was sent to trigger the general evacuation alarm, but as you can hear it…

He did not need to say more. The silence of the bells was sufficient as proof.

— For now, we are too busy to send other soldiers there. If you could go and see what's wrong, it would help us. Some settlers still believe it's safer to stay hidden in their homes…

She began to run towards the building.

— I'll take care of it !

She rushed to the church, noticing a detail that all seemed to have forgotten : if there was fire, why were the firemen not there to handle it ? Scharnhorst had deployed all his men to town, where were they to help their comrades ?

…

Taiyang banged his fist against his palm as he advanced a step closer to the alleged murderer.

— I do not know who you are, but you're going to explain what's going on here.

— Don't wanna," replied the stranger without saying a word.

It was not a mistake, Taiyang did not see his lips move! Something was wrong… Then he thought he was hallucinating when he saw the man disappear before him like a mirage !

His senses did not detect the threat in his back in time. He did not see the killer appear behind him at incalculable speed and throw his thunderbolt at him! But it was not counting on Raven who intercepted the weapon and neutralized it with her blade.

With surprising agility, the assailant received himself on the ruins of a balcony. With a gesture less solemn but more practical, he materialized a new spear in his hands. He seemed disappointed about something :

— Not bad ... But you're not terrible. Are you really Huntsmen ?

They did not reply.

— Are you scared? Not very noble… The soldiers were more experienced. "Hold the position ! Shoot him down !" Ahhh… And then their cries of agony… "Commander… Commander Scharnhorst…" A delight for the ears !

Taiyang's face became livid, while Raven's phalanges whitened beneath the tense. She had heard enough to know what to do with this individual who reminded him too much of the madmen of his tribe. She slipped her saber into her scabbard and turned Dust's barrel. The mechanism stopped at a red portion and brandished a red sword.

— A chameleon saber ? It's pretty but not very useful," laughed the man.

She took up position, without even paying attention to him, her posture seemed to require all her attention. Suddenly she cut off the air with a fluid gesture and her vortex opened before her. Without losing time, she swallowed inside and reappeared in the back of the killer, her saber ready to decapitate him. Now he was not smiling anymore.

— Oops ! I think it's in those moments that I have to say "I surrender", right ?

— No need for those of your kind.

The tone of his voice caused Taiyang to react, but he was too far away to act.

— Raven ! Don't !

She cut off the murderer's neck, no remorse made her blade quiver. She knew that taking life was contrary to the Huntsmen and that she might pay the price later. But this thought did not disturb her at all. This kind of man had to die, and it did not matter if it was by his hand.

— Oh, it must hurt like hell…

The head and the body remained welded to each other. Insensitive to the blade that had decapitated him, he turned his head toward Raven and smiled. His supernatural smile froze his blood !

— Look out !" Taiyang warned.

She felt her hair bristle, her instinct urged her to raise her eyes to the sky and she saw dark clouds flocking over her. A white light dazzled her and she thought she saw Taiyang jump on her. But it was too late for her, he should have known…

Lightning fell on Raven with the force of a missile, what remained of the balcony exploded in a mist of dust !

…

When she pushed open the heavy doors of the entrance to the church, Summer was surprised by the darkness and heavy silence that inhabited the place. Where did the soldiers go ?

— Hello…? There is someone ?

No answer. This warns. She made sure she had her "weapon" ready to be used before walking softly inside the hall. The windows were blocked by shutters but left a few rays of light filter. Her eyes quickly became accustomed to the darkness of the room and she watched her surroundings. Along the way in front of her stood rows of benches leading to an altar surrounded by numerous stained-glass windows, a classic chapel. She stepped cautiously along the nave, inspecting each seat in search of a clue as to the location of the soldiers. She discerned a human form lying on a bench. She approached to see better, her hand touched the characteristic armor of a soldier. She gently tried to wake him up.

— Hey ? Wake up.

Suddenly, she petrified. She stood a few seconds, motionless, wide-eyed, before backing down, holding back a retch.

In the dim light the man seemed to be sleeping quietly. Except that his bowels were coming out of his abdomen and spreading on the floor like a filthy organic puddle.

Summer tried to control her emotions. It was not the first time she saw the remains of a person, the Grimms hunt was often accompanied by the horrors that these monsters perpetrated on villagers, but this time this death had been caused by a man. The cut was straight, from bottom to top… It was the incontestable result of a blade.

 _"Most of my men are former Draconis veterans,"_ Scharnhorst said.

This soldier expert in combat, how could he have been surprised that way ? Why would a man kill him while the city was in chaos ?

She resumed her silent walk towards the choir.

The altar was covered with blood.

Behind him lay a second body, that of a second soldier, his throat had been cut and his blood had splashed the whole religious table, it was monstrous. A scene as macabre as outrageous...

The last soldier rested a few meters further on, at the foot of the staircase leading to the first floor and the bell tower. He still had the dagger planted in his back, straight in his heart.

She wanted to step forward and climb up, but held back. It was not a trap but a warning. She scrutinized the floor above her, an assembly made of noble wood and finely chiseled. From up there you could see the entire interior of the church without being seen. She detected a presence, tiny but indisputably human. This discretion could not be that of a civilian, no, it was the talent of an experienced hunter. A hunter of men…

He had to know he was spotted because the last spark of presence in him went out completely. She might have thought herself alone, but it was not.

— Silence. Self control. Quick understanding of your environment. You're a Huntress," said a toneless voice in the dark.

Summer tried to locate the origin of the voice but did not succeed. The echo of the walls made the task arduous. This land was not his, but she did not panic.

Calmly, she closed her eyes to concentrate.

Since she had entered Beacon, she had been taken under the wing of the Headmaster Ozpin. At the sight of her Silver eyes, he had decided to give her the best training possible to make her an outstanding Huntress. Until now, she had faced Grimms below her abilities. This individual raised the level of her previous fighting.

— Who are you ?

— You don't need to know. Dead men tell no tales.

She stepped back a step, avoiding in extremis a knife which planted in the floor.

— Too bad for you, but I'm a woman.

She turned her head so as to detect the tiniest sound in the church. This fight was based on patience. The first to attack will be the first spotted. Except that the situation did not lend itself to a long fight. Time was pressing ! Between the explosions and the fire, the panic was going to attract all the Grimms in the neighbourhood ! Was this man aware of it ?!

There was a squeaking of wood beside her but she resisted the reflex of attacking without thinking. The trick was too crude to bite at the bait. He was a professional but he seriously underestimated her ! She bent down, easily avoiding the knife that came from the opposite of the noise. This time, Summer counterattacked.

Suspended at a chandelier, head upside down like a bat, Marcus Black, the famous assassin, detected the Aura of the Huntress activate. He discerned a movement in the darkness and grabbed another throwing knife. His eyes, sharpened by years of experience, saw a kind of spear throw at him! He let go and the chandelier exploded in a mixture of broken glass and ice. He landed with the silence of a feline, astonished to feel drops of water on him. He stood still but his brain was working at full speed.

 _A spear of ice ?_

If this were a Semblance, it meant that he was dealing with a Huntress capable of mastering the ice. And visibly talented. However, from the memory of men, the only Huntsmen able to control the ice were those of the famous Schnee family of Atlas. All its members had blue eyes and snow-white hair. But this woman, with her black hair and her outfit in the style of the people of Vale, was clearly not !

Watts had ordered that the signal of the evacuation be suppressed, in order that the most of panicked inhabitants should be concentrated in the colony and thus attract as many Grimms as possible.

Taking care of a few soldiers was not a problem, but a Huntress was another set of sleeves ! Fortunately for him, as the perfect murderer he was, he had planned to defend himself in case of big trouble.

Summer saw a cylinder rolling at her feet. She instinctively pushed it away with a kick… A good reaction because the grenade exploded in the air. Strangely, instead of an explosion, the weapon released a powerful light that blinded her ! Her retina burned, and she uttered a cry of pain as she put her hands before her painful eyes. This was the moment the assassin was waiting for. He leapt out of his hiding-place and rushed at her with his daggers in his hand ! However, the sound of his sprint betrayed him because the Huntress extended a hand towards him and the floor in front of him covered with ice peaks! He stopped short of this unexpected threat.

2 seconds…

It was the time that remained before she could see again. He leapt onto a side wall, avoided the picks and jumped on the Huntress with the blade right on her heart.

1 second…


	15. Chapter 11 - Miracle

Raven found herself plunged into the dust and darkness that the Taiyang body gave her. Just before the lightning struck, he had activated his Semblance and had thus protected her.

— Are you okay ?" he asked, breathless.

She nodded, still stunned by the explosion. Taiyang seemed to suffer the martyr but refused to show it before her.

— I think… I haven't managed to absorb it entirely… I never thought I'd be hit one day by a lightning…

She saw blood flowing from her back… There was the smell of burnt flesh…

— Tai !

He gulped, tried to get up but did not succeed.

— We must get out of here…

She extricated herself from under his body and saw the terrible mark that had burned her companion's back. The injury seemed serious but she did not know how to treat this kind of burn.

— Sorry, but I'm gonna have to carry you.

— Okay…

She managed to carry him on her back despite his weight and his cries of pain.

— Clench your teeth ! This guy may not be far away.

— It's clear that it's not you who suffers for protecting your partner…

— We'll talk about it later.

She made sure that he clung to her before she stood up and examined the surroundings.

The lightning had not only destroyed the balcony but all that had remained standing in the neighborhood. Now, the field looked like a war urban landscape.

The strength of this man with aviator glasses was terrifying, but the worst was the nature of his Semblance : he seemed to have two Semblances, which was biologically impossible. The first was the creation of this lightning spear and the second was his ability to teleport superior to her own ! But was it really one ? Raven needed to invoke her vortex to teleport, but this man did not need it ! His body became transparent and insensitive to physical blows ! He could take an ethereal form ?

— Raven… This guy…

— What ?

— Lightning…

— Lightning ? What are you talking about ?

He muttered something unintelligible before closing his eyes.

— Taiyang ? Hey ! Tai ! Stay with me ! It's not time to sleep !

She tried to shake him, to keep him awake while searching the debris, fearing every moment that this killer…

— Found you~u !

She looked up at the man in front of him waiting for them quietly, again sitting on a pile of ruins. He looked unharmed in spite of the thunder that had struck him with her and Tai, he had even replaced his glasses around his neck as if the fight was no longer worth the trouble.

— I'd like to have fun with you a little longer but it became so la ~~~ me ! Let's end this !

On the one hand, Raven pointed the tip of his sword on him, ready to fight to the end.

— Why don't you leave him ? He's a dead weight, he slows you down.

— Never !

He shrugged and stood up taking time to stretch, not frightened by his katana. He weighed his spear and prepared to throw it. From wherever she was, Raven could not avoid the projectile unless she forsook Taiyang but could not do such a thing.

 _The strong live and the weak die…_

Younger, she would have done without even thinking. Only her brother counted for her at that time, but things had changed. Summer, that girl too nice to be the leader, had opened it to the outside world, and Taiyang, the weakest of their team, had attached to her from the first day ... She refused to drop all those emotions hardly won ! She wanted to know what they would reveal at the end of this journey! Or die trying to find out.

The blood of Taiyang began to flow on his back. There was not a minute to lose !

— If you care so much about him, then die with him !" shouted the murderer, throwing his spear at phenomenal speed.

Raven made a choice and… jumped forward to meet the spear !

If she could not dodge the blow, she could at least avoid death ! She leaned to the side as the spear hit her. The point of the spear bites his head dangerously, whistling between her skull and her ear. The blow shook her, blood ran down her face, and her right eye became temporarily blind ! But she kept a firm hand on Taiyang and the other on her saber.

She read the astonishment in the eyes of the murderer when she was on him. He reacted, and his arms began to blur. Her katana was faster ! The blade pierced the flesh at the level of the shoulder and came out in the back ! He yelled as he disappeared !

When he reappeared, it was at a reasonable distance. Too far for Raven to retry her race ! Blood flowed from the murderer's bruised shoulder, this time he was no longer smiling.

— I recognize you're good with a sword. Nobody had spilled my blood for a long time !

He materialized in his hand his spear against Raven, exhausted by the weight of Taiyang and her own wounds.

She faced her imminent death, this man and his thunder spear. She was astonished by her own calmness. His mind was clear. Ready.

She looked with detachment the murderer preparing to kill her. He pulled the lance back, aimed and relaxed his arm like a spring. His arm went forward, giving his throwing weapon a sufficient speed to…

.

He held his spear.

His expression suddenly passed from complacency and sadism to the most serious gravity. She even thought she saw a drop of sweat on her face. Why this sudden change of attitude…?

.

— **What do a rat out of its sewers ?**

.

She gasped at the crushing presence that pulsed behind the murderer. On that day she thought she had had to deal with the full extent of this force, but she discovered that it was not. What she had perceived was mere intimidation. How could a human being contain such strength in him ?!

Behind her enemy, the fog of smoke and dust dissipated as one draws a curtain, leaving room for a terrifying silhouette. A being in the face concealed in the shadow of a hood, wearing a black coat. There was a cold anger in the way he stood, to destroy the threat of the fool by the pressure of a single glance. Yet, despite the terror that seized her, Raven noticed that the murderer trembled with all his body. His eyes jerked at the one of the Four.

— What a bad surprise…" murmured the killer." Of all the four, I had to fall on you.

A terrified and excited smile appeared on his lips. On his back, the man had not moved, but the tension he exuded was growing like a volcano on the edge of the eruption. The murderer tensed up.

He remembered the advice of his Queen. If one of them met _him_ , he had to flee as quickly as possible. _She_ had been clear. Flee to continue serving or fighting and dying unnecessarily. He was not particularly keen to die here but if he wanted to be rewarded for his efforts, his only option was to capture this monster for her !

Without losing any time, he swung around, his hands clasped around his spear, ready to use his Semblance and hit his target in the back and… Found himself face-to-face with the Man in Black.

He was flabbergasted. According to the sound of his voice, he must have been more than twenty yards behind him! How could he have traveled such a distance in such a short time ?!

.

— **Pitiful… Are you really one of the six Champions of Salem ?**

.

The insult made him react. With a cry of rage, he strained with all his might his weapon to his opponent !

With one hand, the Man in Black stopped the thunderbolt. His opponent gazed with amazement at the bare hand stop his weapon.

A horrible noise was heard when the Man accentuated the pressure of his fingers on the thunder spear. In a last burst, the gun is made of Semblance gave way under the pressure ! All the energy delivered was concentrated in an extremely luminous point that was caught by the fist of the Man in Black. The murderer found himself defenseless in front of him, yet he obviously did not try to kill him.

The moment of surprise passed and the killer pulled away from him without fear for his life.

— First time, first ti~me ! Your Rules are clear on that.

— **You learned your lessons, but you know what you risk next time.**

The murderer knew that his role here was over.

— I'll be waiting for this moment ! My name is Hyp'R Nova ! Remember the name !

With these last words, his silhouette dissipated like a mirage.

.

When Raven opened her eyes, there was nothing left but her, Taiyang and the Man in Black. This one turned his head toward her and even though she could not see his eyes in the shadow of his hood, she felt all the weight of his gaze on her. Not surprising after all. There were hunters and hunted. Now, the roles were reversed. In his condition, he could take care of them both easily. She swallowed, her grip around her saber became cowardly. Trembling ran through her. She attended a tete-a-tete with Death.

But she did not let go of his weapon.

Taiyang needed care as soon as possible. She was ready to fight against him and her survival instinct screaming through her blood. Her ears buzzed, her breathing quickened pace with her heart.

The Man in Black and Raven stared a long time when suddenly a strange bell tone sounded throughout the city. It was probably the signal to evacuate the colony, but its sound was beautiful, there was no distress as might be expected. It looked more like a call. A call to arms and grandiose moments of the battlefield.

Raven blinked several times, surprised by the nature of the noise. The Man in Black slowly turned his head to the bell tower in the distance and lost interest completely the two humans. He walked, but his steps made no noise. He seemed to be a shadow, a being more dead than alive…

— **The battle will be fierce. Move to somewhere safe** ," he said to her with his dead voice.

— And you?" she dared to ask.

But she had no answer.

…

— **Huntsmen are sure a trouble.**

Sélénée was still holding her scythe against Qrow's throat, watching Arthur carefully. A little blood began to flow from his throat but it was not mortal. One centimetre more was enough for her to kill him, and she knew it perfectly. He had committed a mistake thinking she was on her side. The Four and Ozpin was fighting against something, but each in their own way.

— A man corrupted by the desire for power wants to take me away in his kingdom of the dead, another wants to bring me to a bastard of the worst kind. I think more and more men offer me to go to places where I have no desire to be there…" she sighed in a calmer voice.

She passed a hand through her hair and black scales began to grow at the edges of her red eyes. For each scale that pierced her skin, blood flowed from her bruised flesh and drew a red trail on her beautiful face. Her real nature took shape and Arthur knew that her lung injury would not be enough to stop her, unless he killed her.

One of his hands began to tremble as the heat was amassing in it. They were ready to resume the fight.

Qrow felt the danger he would run if he stayed here between these two monsters. He could not compete against her, even less against them both simultaneously.

— Are you willing to surrender ?" Arthur asked without really believing.

His attention was so concentrated on Sélénée that he hardly saw the Huntsman's backward movement in noticing something…

.

— Would you do it, Arthur Watts?

This time Arthur swallowed as he heard the voice behind his back. Calmly emerging from the smoke and the flames appeared a man wearing a white coat, his face hidden in the shadow of his hood.

— It seems that I, too, lost too much time talking…

The Man in White raised an arm to his guard and materialized in his hand a sword shaped in the same metal as the dagger of Arthur.

Arthur was in very bad shape against two such powerful opponents, yet he did not seem to be worried about his fate. His hand was still shaking from his Semblance and the other was still holding his weapon. Qrow did not believe it. Did this man think he still had a chance to win ?

Suddenly a bell sounded and the atmosphere changed.

Sélénée released Qrow from her grip and made her scythe disappear into the black mist, deliberately making herself defenseless against Arthur. He sighed and lowered his fist. His Semblance relaxed immediately.

— Someone has gone through my best element… I guess my role is over here. Unless one of you wishes to continue this fight ?

No one answered. For the man and the woman, the fight seemed to be concluded and Qrow knew he was no match against him. It would have been necessary to attack him with the whole STRQ team to hope to defeat him.

— A pleasure to see you again, Sélénée. Too bad it's under such circumstances…

And so Arthur disappeared into the smoke of the battlefield.

.

He was soon joined by Tyrian and Hazel. Both seemed to suffer from their confrontation with Sélénée.

— Let's go before the show began," he ordered.

A dark mass landed behind them.

— And the Four ?" asked Hype'R Nova.

— You've seen it yourself, haven't you ?" replied Arthur, pointing his chin to his body.

— Huh ?

He lowered his eyes and discovered the trembling of his hands ! He could still see clearly the face of his adversary. The simplicity he had to disarming him ! At that moment, he could have killed him as one blows on a candle !

— Shit !

— Even very weak, their strength remains superior to our own," said Arthur. Even after twenty years of calvary, they still represent a threat too dangerous. I thought that my plan was perfect but Sélénée knew to return it to her advantage… I lacked of prudence…

He was suddenly seized by a violent coughing fit which forced him to stop.

— Arthur ?" inquired Hazel.

His leader put a hand to his chest.

— She broke me at least three ribs… * **cough*** … At the moment when I succeeded in hurting her. If I had pursued the battle longer, I would probably have perforated my lung.

In spite of his condition, he had a melancholy smile.

— What a bitch ! She has not changed…

But his smile disappeared very quickly when he remembered a very unpleasant detail.

— What is Marcus doing ?

...

Marcus Black could not believe his eyes when the blade of his dagger hit the invisible wall that surrounded the young Huntress. And he was not the only one !

Summer stared without understanding the rose offered by the florist to illuminate and generate the protective field. She did not understand how such a thing was possible but she knew how to seize this opportunity ! She put her hands on the floor and froze the floor, thus sealing the assassin's legs !

He struck his dagger into the ice to break it but it was too strong. He had to admit that he was a prisoner !

He dropped his weapon and spread arms in token of submission.

Summer sighed, as relieved as she was amazed to be still of this world. She looked down at the rose attached to her coat and took it between her fingers. On examining it, she discovered that one of the petals faded and fell.

She could not believe it ! It was magic !

Then she regained her composure by remembering her "prisoner." This latter had not moved but stared at her intensely.

— Who are you ?" she asked.

Obviously, the assassin did not answer. But Summer did not allow herself to be disconcerted by this silence.

— Why did you kill these soldiers ? They were just people who wanted to help !

No answer.

Scharnhorst will arrange to make him talk. For now, she had more important to do than to interrogate this man ! She left him locked in the middle of the nave and rushed to the bell tower. Unfortunately, she found the rope connected to the clapper at her feet, net cut. She went up the steps of the staircase leading to the bell. If she hit the bell enough, she could still save all the inhabitants of the colony. But when she reached the top of the tower, her hopes were swept away.

In the cacophony of the attack, nobody had paid attention to a slight explosion at the top of the bell tower. A brief glimmer that had destroyed nothing, caused neither flames nor smoke.

Just a crack in the belly, a crack that came from the edge of the bell and went up to the middle. Even if Summer strikes with all her might, she would not be able to produce a powerful enough sound to be heard throughout the colony.

— Oh no… NO !

She fell on her knees before the silent bell and struck her furiously. All she obtained was a sharp pain at the phalanges.

Tears of bitterness ran down her cheeks. That was the end of Mountain Glenn and its people… How many were still hidden at home waiting for help that will never come ? How many will perished when the Grimms will break their door ?

Was that the limit of her training of Huntress ?!

Then the feeling of helplessness and despair gave way to an anger which animated her. Something painful broke out in a space of her mind. Her whole body stood upright and descended the stairs with a disquieting gravity.

Marcus Black saw the Huntress come back to her, but he did not recognize her so much her look had changed ! The two blue eyes fixed him with murderous intent. It was not a normal look !

— Why ?

She had cracked…

A puff of heat invades her body. There was a pounding more and more rhythmic in her ears.

Her gesture seemed natural to her when she raised a hand toward him and the ice that trapped his legs stretched to his neck.

Immediately the assassin raised his hands to his throat and tried in vain to breathe. His body began to convulse as he sought desperately for a way to escape those fingers of ice that slowly killed him !

Summer did not see any of it. Her mind was obscured by a screen. All she wanted was to make this man pay the end of the colony !

Marcus Black's face changed from red to blue. Another minute and…!

— The power of a Maiden is found in Life, not in Death.

.

Summer jumped on hearing a voice coming from the entrance to the church. She turned her head and opened her eyes wide.

— The florist…?

Wrapped in a white mantle in the simple but delightful style appeared a woman of striking beauty. Her crystalline face and alabaster skin gave her unspeakable beauty and her long blond hair was as bright as flames. It emanated from her a joy and a serenity that captivated Summer. Anyone seeing her would succumb immediately to her resplendent perfection. Every movement she made was full of grace, even though she did not seem to provoke it by any artifice. She inspired it, that's all. The bluish depth of her eyes, like the infinity of the sky, watched her with an exquisite delicacy which troubled Summer.

Summer calmed down and suddenly realized what she had almost committed !

Fortunately, as soon as her mind was calm, the ice had freed the assassin from his embrace and he had fallen on his knees, taking great breaths to recover the lost air of his lungs. He raised his head to the two women and one of his hands pulled out a knife from his jacket. He held the handle with a certain lack of strength.

The Woman in White laid her celestial eyes on him, and then Marcus realized the deep difference that separated them. It was not a divide, neither a gap of strength between them that he could one day try to fill. It was two peaks spaced apart from one another. Except that one was a hill and the other a mountain lost in the sky…

— Enough blood has flowed today.

This invitation to flee was unexpected but against such a powerful opponent, he willingly accepted the offer and disappeared in the darkness without a sound.

Now the Woman turned to Summer, frightened by her own behavior. She stuttered a sequence of incomprehensible words, unable to keep control of her emotions. An icy cold froze gradually all that surrounded the Huntress. The floor and the wooden benches cracked under the sudden wave of cold. At this rate, the young woman was not going to survive to her own power…

It was enough for the Woman in White to advance towards the Huntress, in spite of the biting cold which immediately began to freeze her shoes and the bottom of her coat. She continued walking even when the frost attacked her legs. Insensitive to the damage of her body, she crouched beside the Huntress and put her hands on her face so that she looked at her. Her eyes plunged into her own and immediately, the screen of anger that obscured Summer's mind vanished. She seemed to gravitate around a star, like a child. When she regained control of herself, the frost had invaded the whole interior of the church like a layer of paint over all things.

Summer held a cry :

The Woman in White looked at her with a smile, her body covered with a thin pellicle of ice. She had to suffer burns from the cold ! Yet her body was not trembling.

— O-Oh my…

— Shhhh… It's okay… Winter is as peaceful as it's deadly. You got a most dangerous power. You have to learn to master it correctly.

— But… You're going to die if we don't do something !

The woman closed her eyes and the frost that covered her disappeared ! In the face of Summer's incredulity, the florist rose without any shock or pain. Her skin showed no symptoms of hypothermia. Was that the power of one of the Four ?

After making sure that Summer was unharmed, the Woman in White made her way to the bell tower.

— It's useless," warned Summer in a distressed voice." The bell is…

The woman stopped at the foot of the stairs leading to the top of the tower. Her confident smile finished dazzling Summer with her supernatural bearing.

— What is broken may still wish to live a last moment.

And she left.

Summer found herself suddenly alone, as if the only light in the room had gone out. She decided to follow the Woman despite her head was still turning. She felt strangely called by this person with supernatural abilities. Her steps led her to the top of the bell tower where the Woman in White was waiting for her. She was examining the damaged bell.

— That's what I wanted to tell you…This bell will never ring again.

All around them, one could see the chaos in the streets, the flames that were gradually nibbling entire districts. For Summer, it was an unsustainable horror vision. How many people were counting on her when she could not meet their hopes ?

But the Woman seemed distant from this desolation. Her fingers caressed the metal surface of the bell and followed the outlines of the crack.

— Age has given you life, but it's this city that formed your soul. Will you agree to beat the heart of Mountain Glenn one last time ?

Summer thought she was crazy listening to her speak to an object. Only a miracle could save the colony !

She was still thinking of it when the Woman in White pushed the heavy bell with one hand and let it oscillate.

…

There was no more clapper, no more resonance possible.

And yet…

Summer never believed in a divine entity, but what her ears perceived was, like all the inhabitants of Mountain Glenn, a sound full of life and hope.

And Thus that the miracle of Mountain Glenn was born : by the singing of a resuscitated bell.


	16. Chapter 12 - Abnegation

The melody of the bell vibrated in the heart of each as a call, a need, a desire to live which gave the will of the resigned to flee.

Then a Sign appeared after the Miracle in the form of a sparkling snow.

All the wounded and the elders, abandoned to their fate, who were touched by it, saw their wounds and their aged bodies healed as if by magic ! Those who were condemned then rose and all began to run straight in the same direction.

.

— Snow ? wondered Raven with surprise, raising a hand to the sky.

A snowflake landed on her palm and immediately, she felt her fatigue vanish! She was without Aura, exhausted and here she was again at the top ! What had happened ?

— What's happening… ?" Taiyang muttered, regaining consciousness.

— Tai ? You're okay ?

She wanted to help him crouch but found that the burn on his arms was healed ! It was a miracle !

— What is going on ? Tai asked noting her expression.

.

Sélénée let herself be covered by the snow, which regenerated her flesh and restored her strength. She had a small sigh of relief as she guessed who was behind this phenomenon.

— You are really hopeless… Waste this way your Energy…

The Man in White examined her wound that was healing.

— Argent ?

She nodded.

— Here I am with a new scar… She found dangerous toys for her little soldiers…

He did not answer, merely looking as her at Qrow Brawen who kept one hand on his sword, ready to draw at any time.

— Relax, Harbinger," said the woman in black. "We have nothing against you or your Tribe. Except if you're looking for troubles…

A red glow glowed briefly in her eyes.

Cautiously, Qrow pushed his hand away from his weapon.

— You know the existence of the Tribe ? And my Semblance ?

— It emanates from you with a disconcerting visibility. It must not be easy to live every day with ... Well, whatever !

She walked towards him intending to leave but Qrow blocked the way. He had questions to ask them, and a mission to accomplish.

— Do not even try," warned the man in white. "You're no match for us.

— Who… _What_ are you ?

The Woman in Black smiled, but without humor. She was filled with deep sadness and… horror of life. Maybe it was because she seemed like a monster to him.

— We are those who hunt the Evil you pretend doesn't exist.

She approached him again. Her joyless smile disappeared, her voice became dark and terrifying.

— _**Move aside**_.

This time, Qrow moved away. He may have recovered his strength, but he was stupid to act like that ! As they passed him, she whispered in his ear :

— There are others like him. Your friends may be in danger.

He widened his eyes and turned around. But the two of the Four had already disappeared ! Others as their opponent ? He had seen lightning strike an area of the colony not far from here…

Without wasting more time, he rushed there ! His skin was covered with black feathers and his face became a beak. In the desolate skies of Mountain Glenn, a crow flew out of the snow as the sun disappeared over the horizon and the fragmented moon rises…

From the cobblestones of the colony, Scharnhorst and his men saw the moon begin her ascent into the inky sky.

— Commander…

— I know. It's coming.

.

On the outskirts of the colony, close to the containment, silent, eyes closed, the Man in Black was waiting.

It was time…

The presence of the Champions of Salem and his other companions had hampered him in his task. He had lost the thread of hate of the Grimms, find it in this ocean of negativity was now useless.

He opened his eyes and stared for a moment at the night sky. His emotions, bridled by destruction and eternal murder, remained insensitive to the spectacle of the stars.

Up there, a Nevermore tore up the constellation picture by its presence and those of hundreds of others.

The vultures were there.

Slowly, he put his hand to his sword.

.

The crow flew through the fire and obstacles until his piercing sight spotted his sister and Tai. With a flutter of wings, he plunged to the ground and took human form as he landed in front of them.

— Raven! Tai! You're ok ?

His sister raised her head on hearing him. Tai and Raven seemed unharmed. Yet, their eyes showed that they had seen something remarkable. He did not know that she too thought the same of him.

— We're fine…," said Taiyang caressing the skin of his arms, unable to believe the miracle he had witnessed.

— Your jacket…?

Qrow was referring to the marks of burns still visible on his jacket.

— Oh that… ? Let's say…" He looked at Raven briefly before rubbing the back of his head. "I discovered that I was a very good lightning rod.

Raven put a hand on her face to hide her embarrassment.

— At least you always have the same sense of humor," Qrow joked, turning to Raven, eager for answers.

— A man. Alone," she explained. "He said he took care of the soldiers… Without the intervention of the Man in Black, I don't think we would have escaped alive…

— The Man in Black saved you ?

— Didn't you feel his Aura ?

— Well… Let's say that facing two of the Four, feeling something other than their Auras is difficult, believe me.

— Two ?

— The Woman in Black and the Man in White. I have the impression that the Four are here in full force.

Raven recorded the information and what all that could mean.

— All four are here... And this guy was there for them, I've the impression.

— Yeah, I saw others fighting the Woman in Black before fleeing. She seemed to know at least one…

— Is it them, the mark on your neck ?

He put his hand to his chinstrap, where the scythe had nearly cut his throat.

— Na. The Woman in Black I think she wanted to stop me from getting involved in her fight.

— Believe me, you would not have liked...

Qrow was astonished at her calm. It was the first time his sister was not talking of revenge against the person who had dared to hurt his brother. She who was so protective of him… What she had experienced must have really turned it upside down.

— Ozpin never told us about that," Raven said.

— I confirm… I think that they have all fled at the bells ring. What was this noise ?

— I don't know but I'm sure it has something to do with this kind of healing snow...

She was silent, not knowing how to approach the subject that burned her lips.

— Did you feel it too ?

Qrow nodded gravely, immediately understanding what she was asking for.

— I don't know what I felt... But it wasn't human.

— Are you talking about their Auras ?" Tai asked, a little confused by their conversation.

— Yes, it's true that you were unconscious when the Man in Black saved us…

As Hunters, they knew from experience how to recognize the nature of an individual: Human, Faunus or Grimm...

— But the Four... These people are closer to the monsters than us," Qrow concludes.

— And where did these monsters go ?

The Hunters all turned to the same point.

The steeple of the church.

— Oh no, Summer...

.

Night was now in the sky, plunging Mountain Glenn into a terrifying darkness. Only the railway station was always supplied with electricity thanks to some generators unearthed here and there, the endless queue of civilians never ceased to spread. The tired face of the people was bathed in a pale light. One after the other, they entered the underground city. There were crying, especially from the children and the mourners...

Summer was not far from this distressing sight. She was waiting for them, sitting at the foot of the church. Unharmed but exhausted.

Soldiers entered and left with the remains of their comrades-in-arms. Someone had placed a white rose on each body as a sign of final homage.

Scharnhorst and his men were near here, taking off their helmets as the funeral procession passed... According to some civilians, the headquarters and all the command posts had been victims of a massacre. No survivors had escaped... Exactly as Raven's and Tai's opponent had said... It was obvious that the captain was exhausted, but he refused to show it in front of his men. His sense of responsibility was considerable. How was he doing to stay up ? Where did he draw that strength ?

Qrow put a hand on Summer's shoulder and she raised her two fake blue eyes to him.

— The Woman in White... She was here...

She spoke in a slow, tired voice. His eyes were red with emotion. Never had Qrow seen her in this state.

— What's happened ?

She looked down at the white rose she was holding between her fingers.

— There was someone in the church. Maybe an assassin... He killed all those soldiers... And I almost killed him too...

— What do you mean ?" Qrow asked, surprised.

Summer was the most gentle person he knew on Remnant. He could not imagine her wanting to hurt others.

Summer looked at her trembling hands, as if they were covered in blood.

— I ... I do not know," she explained, shaking her head. "Everything is blurred in my mind... All I remember is the Woman in White... She's the one who made the bell ring...

— It wasn't you ?

She shook her head again.

— No... It's... The assassin... He had blown up the bell.

— How did she make it sound then ?" Raven asked, looking up at the bell tower.

— She just put her hand on the bell and she made it ring.

— That's magic, Summer.

— I know what I saw, Raven !

Raven was surprised by the edgy tone of his leader. Summer groaned.

— I'm sorry, I... My head hurts so much... Even me, I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes... And the colony ?

Commander Scharnhorst arrived just in time to announce her in person.

— Thanks to the sound of the bell, we managed to gather almost all the inhabitants of the colony. Thank you, miss Rose.

Summer nodded softly. This feat was not hers and she was embarrassed to receive all the merit.

— What are you going to do now ?" He asked.

The Hunters looked at each other. It was obvious that they were overwhelmed by events. They had been told to capture four individuals without telling them anything about their powers, or that they were being pursued by people of equal strength. How could they cope ? Scharnhorst's troops were decimated, Taiyang and herself were empty of Aura. Only Qrow and Raven remained. Summer was sure Qrow would follow her decision, but what about Raven ? She probably wanted to stay here and fight...

— The Headmaster gave us a mission," she began to say. "But…

— You are going to evacuate with the other civilians, Scharnhorst finished with a disarming calm.

.

All looked at him with stupefaction as his decision was contrary to the situation. He had only a handful of men under his command to protect the whole city ! The Hunters' help was essential to him so why...?

— Look at them," said Scharnhorst, pointing to the column of civilians rushing into the underground city, slowly, too slowly.

— If nothing is done," he continued, "the Grimms will follow them and go back to the heart of Vale, and there will be the end of the kingdom.

His men nodded, understanding, which was not the case of Summer.

— We cannot go and leave you behind !

— You don't abandon us. It is us who decide to stay behind.

— You can be serious ?!" Taiyang choked. "We don't know how many Grimms all this negativity will attract !

— We know it. One more reason to act.

— What are you going to do ?" Raven asked in a less harsh voice to the commander.

— Hold Grimms long enough for all civilians to be in the station,

then blow up all the entrances to the tunnels leading to the underground.

— How ?" asked Qrow.

— There is a firing system provided for this purpose at HQ. Once there, we will activate it.

— And after ?

— We will fly through the air. The Bulhead must still be able to fly.

— It's nice to play the heroes mas it will not take you far, replied Raven. You'll never be able to hold a horde of Grimms to yourself! You need to…!

— Your support ? All I see is a bunch of kids out of school and who already think they are heroes of legends ! You are too young to die here and we are too stubborn to decide anything else.

He inhaled deeply, as if it was the last time he had the opportunity to breathe the air of his beloved city.

— It could have been so much more…, he murmured to himself.

He turned to Summer :

— Leave. I'm sorry for forcing you to make such a promise. Nothing keeps you here.

— Nothing except you.

— Not for long…

Scharnhorst and his men saluted the four Hunters in the manner of the military. Never had these young people seen such self-sacrifice in others. There was no word strong enough to describe their sense of sacrifice... For them... For the inhabitants of Mountain Glenn and for those of Vale...

— Good luck," Raven said laconically.

Scharnhorst smiled and he and his men ran through the debris in one direction. Soon, they disappeared among the scattered remains of the colony.

Summer continued to look where they had gone for a while. She was torn between the need to leave and the desire to stay. She bowed her head, her fists clenched, unable to make a rational decision.

She did not need to do it. Raven put her hand on her shoulder.

— We have to go, Summer.

She began to tremble. All this... It was a war she did not understand...

— Leaving... That's all we can do ?

— Fleeing lets us live one more day," said Raven.

She led her leader to the station when Taiyang stopped and listened.

— Hey, do you hear that ?

Qrow, Raven, and Summer listened, and just like Tai, they recognized the rumblings that were too recognizable in the distance.

— The Grimms.

.

Far from the colony, where the grassland around the city was replaced by the forest, menacing shadows moved, the trees trembled under the force of incalculable masses, the earth was sacked under the weight of thousands of monsters, the grass was crushed to the point of disappearing.

Then one of these entities threw itself out of the forest, leaped several times through the huge minefield. Cautious, the creature sniffed several explosive devices without detonating the slightest. He approached the colony's enclosure a little more and the automated turrets remained silent.

The Beowulf threw back his head and uttered a long howl in the moonlit night.

At this signal, all the Grimms jumped out of the forest and rushed straight to the colony !

.

Team STRQ was not the only one to hear the excited howls of the Grimms. Scharnhorst and his men raised their heads at the sound.

— Falco ... You sure no one answers at the gates of the enclosure?" he said in a defeated voice.

— Yes, the four stations are empty," answered the radio.

— Vlad, you confirm that the doors are open? All the doors ?

— Yeah...

— And the headquarters ?

— No one survives... Someone cleaned up all the city...

Falco does not say any more. He took his helmet and let it fall from his sweaty hands. He did not need it anyway.

— Why all of this… ?

The veteran of Draconis looked down, nodded slowly, eyes closed. He breathed deeply, exhaled, started again. Outside, the rumblings of thousands of Grimms were mixed to form a particularly horrible sound that was not human.

— In position. Luis, at the machine gun. Vlad, find yourself a perch and cover us. Y'all, get ready to receive them. Send the order to all the soldiers to fortify the station. You have to defend the building long enough so that everyone can evacuate. We'll have to go through this shit to reach the HQ.

The soldiers obeyed, death in their souls. This shabby little street littered with rubble was going to be their last home...

— What do we say to the angel who will come to seek our bodies ?" asked their commander.

— « You may find me dead in a ditch somewhere. But by God, you'll find me in a pile of brass !"

— Amen," Scharnhorst said as the rumblings grew from seconds to seconds.

They had to be at the gates of the city, quietly passing through the large armored doors designed to hold them, rush into the first streets and...

— Here they are !

* * *

And here come the cliffhanger !

Hi there, it's Dein ! But you guessed it !

First at all, if you have read all this fanfic so far, so thank you ! (Otherwise, do it ! ;)

Then I wanted to apologize for the time it take me to make this chapter, I had a lot of things to do but rest assured, I don't want to interrupt the story along the way. The history of the STRQ team and the Four will continue until the end. And I intend to continue with Ruby and co !

So don't hesitate to leave a comment, an opinion, (or tell me the mistakes of translations that you would have noticed) so that I know how to improve my story or more simply, to know that people are interested in my fanfic.

Finally, do not forget to put this fanfic in Favorites so you won't miss the next chapters to follow !

Happy reading on Fanfiction

see you !


	17. Chapter 13 - Five Shadows

— Here they are !

They all aimed in the same direction, where the Grimms will appear! The rumblings became unbearable for the eardrums! In a second, they will be on...

.

Suddenly, nothing.

Not a sound. As if all the air in the world had vanished...

Scharnhorst looked up from his sight, intrigued.

— Vlad ? What is happening there?

The sniper answered the radio. He spoke in a voice mixing astonishment with relief.

— Commander ! The Grimms... They stopped at the gates of the colony !

— What ?

— I dunno ! They... they don't move anymore...

Scharnhorst was not a man to miss an opportunity, as he caught the ball in flight. He did not know what was holding back the Grimms but he had to take advantage and quickly !

— Vlad, you stay where you are and you tell us what they do ! We go to the HQ !

.

The Man in Black was standing in front of one of the four large open doors of the protection enclosure. In the night, only enlightened by the night, he waited.

Less than twenty yards from him, a multitude of red eyes stared at him, waiting for a moment of weakness to enjoy it. As far as his eyes could see, he saw the Grimms prowling about the colony, circling around, growling and shuddering with excitement... but also with fear.

The Grimms, these creatures without souls or emotions, dared not advance ! And yet, the more they waited the more other creatures arrived...

Beowulfs and Creeps were now accompanied by Death Stalkers, Ursas and a few rare Taijitu Kings. In the distance, he even saw the oversized forms of a flock of Goliaths, and in the sky a swarm of Nevermores was flying in a circle around the besieged colony.

It would only take a few minutes for the horde to turn Mountain Glenn into the greatest carnage of humanity ! But still no Grimm took the initiative to charge.

Deep inside of them, the darkness of their origin could not hide the gleam of instinct that shone like a sun and howled at all the same signal :

They were facing a super predator.

A creature of a more horrific nature than them. The Grimms could hear his heavy breathing, his scales moving under his skin, each fiber of his muscles warming up waiting for the incoming fight...

He was alone, exhausted, but he still had enough strength to exterminate them.

The Man in Black stepped forward and the Grimms moved back three. Even the most intelligent and feral Alphas preferred to retreat from him.

He understood that time was running out.

The Grimms feared him but above all, they was waiting for something. Salem had one last advantage to perfect the destruction of Mountain Glenn. But what was the nature of this asset ?

The Man in Black turned around and retreated inside the colony. No Grimm took the opportunity to attack him in the back.

Soon…

The leash that held them would give way soon, and the Grimms will kill everyone. He too had to act...

Very soon…

.

— Why don't they attack ? Taiyang asked to himself.

— I don't know, the more important question is how long are they going to stay here ! Qrow replied.

Several meters above the streets, the STRQ team had found an observatory at the top of the station roof. From there, they could see the mass of countless Grimms prowling around the walls of the colony. This strange behavior allowed them to evacuate more people. Whatever the reason, Summer was relieved. It was another miracle...

At this thought, she looked down at the last rows of people fleeing through the underground. Yes, it was a miracle, neither more nor less. She let out a sigh of relief when her sharp eyes noted a particular figure below, more enlightened than others by the spotlight. A person wearing white coat and hood.

— The Man in White !" she discreetly said to the attention of her comrades who immediately followed her gaze.

Among the crowd, the individual stopped and looked up. His eyes met those of the Huntsmen and they knew that he had just heard them despite the noise and the distance. The same mistake had just been made again. The young Huntsmen had forgotten that they were dealing with superhuman beings. Or inhuman.

They jumped from the roof and landed around their target, forbidding him any retreat, but the latter seemed to do not care. The civilians moved away trying to understand what was happening and the military arrived at the same time, eager to help the Hunters. Perhaps they had just captured one of the rubbish responsible for the carnage, who knows ?

— You, the guy with the hood ! Spread hands from the body !

— Be careful with him !" Qrow ordered." This guy is one of our targets !

The Man in White analyzed the power of the Auras of each of the Hunters. It was like being plunged into darkness and compare the brightness of white flames. Three of them were rather lively, but still lacked power. But the fourth... It was a sun hidden behind a moon during the eclipse.

He turned his eyes to the Huntress in the white cape. She was young, probably just out of a Huntsmen' academy. One of her companions said they were looking for him. Did they come from Ozpin ? Surely... But that did not explain the origin of this hidden strength...

— You, the leader. Who are you ?

He took a step towards her and immediately, the swords of Qrow and Raven barred his way.

— No. One. More. Step," Taiyang intimated behind him, putting his fist on his neck.

A discharge Aura in the cervical paralyzed a human being for several hours.

— Who are you ? repeated the Man in white without worrying about the danger.

Summer did not understand the importance of the question.

— I... Am Summer Rose, head of the team STRQ.

— No. Not your name. Your nature," slowly explained the Man in White.

Summer did not understand. No more than the other Huntsmen.

— Aah... It doesn't matter...," he said." You are here for us, aren't you ? Well... Here I am...

Slowly, very slowly, a wind blew around him, a sign announcing his all-powerfulness to come.

— Leave.

— No," Summer said, thinking of Scharnhorst." Not this time ... Never again.

— You can't defeat me, you know it," he insisted, turning to Qrow.

— That's not what I want," said Summer." I ask you to help us to defend the colony !

All eyes turned to her. Raven, Qrow, Tai, even the soldiers were looking at her. Was she sure of her choice ? Could they trust these supernatural individuals ? They themselves had declared that these beings were closer to the Grimms than anything else.

The Man in White judged the determination in his eyes and decided to soothe the wind around him. The heavy atmosphere dissipated suddenly as he answered Summer. Maybe there was a chance to convince him...?

Man in White's response broke her rising hopes.

— The colony can't be saved. All we can do is killing as many Grimms as possible.

— No ! I've seen you ! You have powers defying those of the best Huntsmen ! You can stop all that !

— When did we save a single city in the past ?

His question cut off Summer's breath. There was not the slightest desire to help. It was a simple remark and a question she already knew the answer to : None. They always intervened during the Grimms attack, and nothing remained after their fight.

— We are not saviors, young Huntress. Don't make the mistake that many others have made before you... Go, you and the others. Soon, this colony will no longer exist.

He left for the fight, and no one held him back. He was not of this world of peace, but of that of an eternal conflict between them and the monsters.

— If you continue to fight alone, you will eventually die ! Summer asked behind him in a last attempt to make him react.

— May this day be soon…

.

Her white coat was like a reflection of the moon, the only island of light in the darkness of the deserted streets of the colony.

She lowered her hood, revealing her beautiful face to nothingness. She addressed to the darkness as an old friend :

— Eo, Sélénée.

For a few seconds, nothing happened, then a footstep sounded and a black silhouette came out of the night. Her hood was also lowered.

She walked to her and after a moment's hesitation, smiled at her.

— Eo, Raptoria.

Neither one nor the other had changed, the first still had blue eyes like the sky and the second still sported her eternal tattoo under the right eye.

Raptoria couldn't hold it anymore and took her sister in her arms and Sélénée hugged her too.

— It's good to see you, sister.

— It's been a while, sis...

Two decades had passed since their last meeting. But they did not know what to say. Sélénée was the first to turn away and peered around, looking for a pretext to fill the awkward silence.

— I met a Hunter of Vale earlier.

— I see... The Guardian...

They began to walk side by side as before.

— I also met Arthur Watts...," she confessed in a lower voice.

His sister does not say anything. Sometimes words hurt more than silence.

— Did you meet the others ?

— Lux. He gave me a hand against Arthur... This bastard received an Argent dagger from _her_... As for him... I had lost his track in Draconis.

Raptoria nodded with a thin smile on her face. She had looked for her too, but without success. In his lifetime, he had been the best. And now…

She turned her head north, where she felt the energy of the most powerful of the Four. This monstrous force ... was so miserable compared to its former glory. How long had he been roaming this world in search of combat without resting for a moment ?

— We should not be together. How is it possible ?" asked Raptoria.

— The _signal_ betrayed us. Our "friend" of Vale seems to have found a way to get inside, and our enemies took advantage.

— Even with all these Grimms, she will not be able to defeat us. What about his six Champions ?

— They all fled.

— Salem would not leave such an opportunity ! She must have a plan in mind !

— She does...

Sélénée halted, her face indecisive. She still remembered the information Lux had shared with her after the Huntsman's departure... Could she dare to reveal such a thing to her sister ?

— Raptoria ...

— What's wrong ?

Raptoria looked at her with a certain fear in her eyes. She felt something upsetting was going to be confided to her.

— It's abou...

.

STAK

.

It was the first noise that came to Raptoria's ears as blood spattered her face. Then there was a noise when Sélénée fell to her knees, one hand on her throat, where an Argent arrow was planted. Blood flowed between her fingers and from her mouth. She widened her eyes and both turned their heads towards the origin of the shot. In a building still standing, a ghostly figure watched them intensely.

The exchange of glances was enough for the two women to recognize the negative emanation of a Grimm. Without wasting more time, Raptoria seized Sélénée in her arms and immediately, a shield enveloped them, allowing Raptoria to worry about her sister. Such an injury was not to be taken lightly !

But before she could help her sister, four shadows appeared around them.

What was facing them was not _monstrous_. It had a human form, completely black, with characteristic bony prominences of the Grimms on the hands, feet and along the spine. Outgrowth disfigured the shoulder of one of them by forming an excessive horn. As for their faces... It was a caricature of human skull, with teeth-like fangs, a face devoid of nose and menacing red eyes.

Raptoria and Sélénée immediately felt the threat hovering around them. These shadows were to the Grimms what the dragon was to the lizard. A new specie that Salem had specially created for the Four. Were these things Lux was talking about ?

Sélénée tore off the arrow and stood up, grunting despite the blood.

— _**Rapto...**_ ," she said, forcing her body to regenerate her wound.

— Don't move Sélénée ! You are not…

— _**Behin...!**_

One of the shadows brandished a hand with sharp claws and attacked Raptoria. The latter did not care, the shield around the two women repelled the assailant as easily as a mountain stops the wind. His claws capable of piercing the diamond squealed without effect on the energy shield. She looked at them one after the other, troubled... These... shadows had kept a human form, a first for Salem who had always loved to modify to excess the original forms of her monsters. So why did she feel something deeply familiar with these things...?

— Sélénée... These Grimms...

Sélénée expectorated a blood squirt and finally managed to regain the use of her voice.

— Move back ! It's not…!

The warning arrived too late because a deafening crash shook the shield. Both shuddered as they stared at the shadow on the other side of the shield, its fists crushed against the energy surface. Where the creature had hit, a split was cracking the wall. For a moment, Raptoria did not believe it as it seemed impossible, then the Grimm brought its fist back and another thunderclap sounded. The shield held out again, but this time, a deep crack scarred the wall of protection. Her ears were still tingling the second time that a third burst fractured even more the shield.

— It's even worse than Lux told me...

Sélénée watched as the Shadow struck a fourth time. The shield will not resist the next hit...

— What do you mean ?

Raptoria stepped back carefully.

— Facing Lux, they had to attack his shield to five for the break ... They are becoming stronger and stronger...

Sélénée turned to Raptoria. Guilty of the situation, her sister dared not look into her eyes.

— No... It's you who lacks of Energy...

The revelation came to him at the same time as the last blow that broke the shield in several splinters. The four other Shadows took advantage of the break to jump on their prey. Five against two...

— Well... Shit," said Sélénée, realizing they were fucked.

The Shadow closest to Raptoria thrust its fist in his abdomen and threw her into the rubble of a bank. The four Shadows rushed on her, all claws out. Sélénée held out a hand in front of her, wanting to summon her fake to help her sister. But she never had the opportunity.

Emerging from nowhere, the fifth Shadow cut off her arm, which fell to the ground.

Instinctively, Sélénée hit the Grimm with her other fist. She stroke it in full plexus with the force of a fighter jet launched at full speed ! It made it barely step back.

Sélénée jumped back. Blood was flowing from her amputated limb and she had to use her meager reserves of Energy to stop the bleeding. Facing her, the Grimm tilted its head to one side, looked long at the arm it had just cut, then looked at Sélénée, obviously curious. Its reaction snatched a wry smile from Sélénée. Was it expecting to see her screaming in pain, rolling on the ground while holding her bleeding stump ? Too bad, for her, it was only another drop in an ocean of suffering !

The Shadow finally reacts and attacks it, just like Sélénée...

With a special gesture of the heel, a blade came out of her left shoe, she turned on herself and her blade reached the Shadow right in the heart ! It wavered under the force of the blow but managed to stay up, to the surprise of Sélénée. The Grimm raised its scary mask and stared straight into her eyes. A shudder seized the woman when she saw the claws of the monster planting in her leg.

— Let me guess... No heart ?

The Shadow let out a roar and broke Sélénée's leg in an unpleasant bone crunch. The Grimm raised its head to its prey and found at the end of the last arm of its victim a scythe.

— So... What about the head ?

She decapitated it and the headless body collapsed heavily on the ground. Sélénée collapsed, unable to move. She faintly turned her head and saw the four other Shadows trying to attack Raptoria, who was doing everything she could to keep her shield in check against their strength.

Sélénée saw the ploy behind the attacks.

They knew !

These things knew that Raptoria could not fight back !

She took support with her valid arm and crawled up to her amputated limb. She grabbed him and applied it to his stump. The blood quickly stopped flowing, and scales began to grow around both limbs. The muscle fibers, nerves and veins attached to each other and quickly, she could move her arm normally. One thing done.

There was still her leg... Again, her unbelievable constitution bridged the broken bones and she was able to get up again. But for that, she had to use her fake like a crutch. Between the fight against Arthur and her wounds, she was exhausted. But it was not enough to stop him.

— _It's you who lacks of Energy..._

How could she have blamed this on her own sister when she herself was in the same situation ? How long have they wandered about this world in perpetual conflict between the living and the dead ? A smile grazing the madness stretched on his lips... Deep down, she knew the answer. She counted every passing day with the hope that it would be the last. In vain…

She walked with an uncertain step towards the four Grimms, seeking in her the strength to lift her scythe.

At the same moment, Raptoria turned her head towards her and opened her eyes. Her mouth opened wide but Sélénée did not hear what she was saying. She did not have to worry, she came to help her and probably the others would be here soon...

She could not hear behind her the beheaded body of the Shadow flinch, Grimm's head evaporate into smoke to grown back on its body, its arms and legs get organized to obey the brain again and finally, Sélénée does not see Shadow get up silently behind her back.

Raptoria saw it, she was screaming at Sélénée but she did not seem to hear her. Behind her, the formerly decapitated Shadow prepared to shred her...

Sélénée continued to advance, muttering.

— I'm coming, don't worry…

A squeal caused the Shadow to lift its head.

At The moment when the Man in White threw himself on it like an eagle caught a rabbit. He plunged his sword to the hilt in the Grimm's skull, which fell inert to the ground. Lux stood up beside Sélénée, abandoning his sword still planted in the creature.

— … Our brothers are watching over us," concluded Sélénée with a confident smile.

.

Scharnhorst and his men entered the headquarters of Mountain Glenn. It was a place they frequented so often that they could have turned around with their eyes closed. They knew the faces of the operators in the offices and the secretaries at the front desk, they knew the smell of coffee abominable hanging in the air near the coffee machine and the white walls of the building that had to be cleaned daily because of dirt...

Now nothing resembled to what they had known here. The reception was occupied by the body of a secretary. The only smell now was from the blood who had splattered on the floor and walls. There were so many dead on the ground...

— Keep moving," Scharnhorst ordered.

Was it horrible vision of all the bodies, or of the city plagued by destruction, it is always that the soldiers obeyed orders with remarkable spirit.

The higher they climbed the floors, the more signs of resistance were visible. Impacts of rifles along the walls, hundreds of sleeves hanging on the ground, corpses still holding their weapons in their hands. They had reacted as quickly and as hard as they could. Scharnhorst took no pride in their efforts.

— We're there, chief.

Luis opened the door of the radio. The room was as macabre as the others.

— Are there survivors here ?" shouted Scharnhorst.

No answer. But they expected it. Falco approached a desk and gently pushed back the body of an operator. The radio seemed intact, surely the commando had thought to have eliminated all the military personnel of the colony and did not destroy the material. He looked in a book for the list of existing frequencies. He quickly found the one he was looking for. He turned the amplifier and the mixer until he received a clear signal.

— The whole Kingdom of Vale is listening to you, chief.

He handed the microphone to Scharnhorst. The commander took a deep breath before speaking to Vale.

— Here is Commander Scharnhorst, commander of the Mountain Glenn Defense Forces. Our colony is attacked by a horde of Grimms! Our defenses and my men were swept by a commando with hostile intentions! We evacuate as many people as possible by the underground rail network but many people are still in the station. We are asking all the forces available in Remnant to send their forces to repel the Grimms. Please, if we do not receive reinforcements soon, Mountain Glenn is lost...

Falco extinguished the post at Scharnhorst's sign.

— Are you sure Remnant has heard that?

— This is the global alert frequency. All the radios, civil or military, have broadcast it, I guarantee it !

— And the colony ?

— Everyone must have heard at the station.

— Well, then the soldiers should have the morale to hold the station until reinforcements arrive.

— No need ! We just have to activate the explosives at the entrances of the station and everyone will be safe and sound!

— Perfect.

Scharnhorst put a hand on his shoulder. Falco looked up at his chief, trusting in his orders. With the other hand, the commander took his pistol and shot him in the back of the neck.

— ...but it will not be necessary.

His men around him widened their eyes, unable to understand! Scharnhorst expected no less from them, he raised his weapon and opened fire. The rapidity of his movements did not interfere with the accuracy of his shots and three soldiers fell, hit in the head. The last one, Luis, reacts by pointing his rifle at him. Without turning, seeing him on the outskirts of his field of vision, the commander shifted his arm and shoot. The man was propelled back and died before his fingers could press the trigger.

By acquired consciousness, Scharnhorst fired a second time in the head of each of his men.

Quietly, he ejected the empty magazine from his pistol and inserted another one. He turned back to Falco's lifeless body and searched his outfit for two grenades. He untied one and threw it in front of the radio before leaving the room. The blast reduces the material like the bodies to ashes. Now no one could communicate with the outside world.

The commander then went down to his office, the only access to the firing codes, and threw his second grenade, which produced the same effect. Mountain Glenn and Vale were now sentenced.

Scharnhorst took out his Scroll and dialed a number. He did not have to wait long before the receiver of the call picked up.

— It's me," said Scharnhorst.

— Everything went right ?

— It's done, the radio is neutralized and the call for help launched.

— Perfect. Are you sure the Huntsmen will come to you ?

— Oh, don't worry, Arthur. They will come. And they will die. I guarantee it.

.

Arthur Watts hung up. He and the other four Champions were up on a hill not far from the colony. He turned his head to the Seer who levitated beside him.

— It's time to let the dogs go.


	18. Chapter 14 - Open Warfare

**CHAPTER 14**

 _ **OPEN WARFARE**_

* * *

Lux stopped next to his sister, watching with suspicion the Shadows he had already met a few weeks ago...

— What about your sword ?" Séléné asked her brother.

Lux shrugged and pulled two daggers out of his sleeves.

— They cannot regenerate with a silver blade in the body.

— Interesting ..." she said, turning to the remaining four Shadows." We take two each ?

— Ladies first," smiled Lux.

The Grimms left Raptoria to face their prey. Lux and Sélénée closed their eyes and breathed deeply. When they opened their eyes, it was to reveal all their power ! Dragon's eyes glared at the Shadows. Red for Sélénée, blue for Lux. A tremendous amount of energy began to crackle around them. The Woman in Black was the first to advance, and for every step she took, her face was covered with a few more scales. The Black Mist escaped from her body and began to reduce to ashes everything she touched except her brother who suffered the same alteration of the body but with white scales.

— _**BRING IT ON !**_ " she shouted, throwing herself into the fray.

* * *

— Commander, here Vlad ! The men have just brought the last civilians into the station ! You can blow the entrances to the station ! Commander ?

The sniper posted on the balcony of the top floor of a building observed through the scope of his rifle the end of the line in front of the underground station. Everything was going well for the moment, but why did not his boss answer ?

— Commander ? Do you copy ?

The radio did not even crackle. It was not parasites that scrambled the connection.

— Commander ? Ah shit !

He gave up. If Scharnhorst did not answer, it was probably because there was a problem at HQ ! It was necessary to send him reinforcements as soon as possible ! But who ? All the remaining soldiers were busy fortifying the station while waiting for the signal. There remained the Hunters !

— Team STRQ ? Answer, Team STRQ ! Here Vl ... Whatever ! The Commander has not responded to HQ since the broadcast ! Maybe the commando that attacked us is there ? Team STRQ ?

Too busy handling his radio, he did not immediately take care of a dark form in the sky that grows very quickly as it rushed on him. His instinct made him look up as the Nevermore hit him, its fearsome claws open to shred him.

He threw himself on his back and avoided the dead claws, dropped his radio and grabbed his rifle. He opened fire while getting inside. The bullets chased the Grimms but it returned by thrusting its massive head into the room, its beak slammed dangerously close to Vlad who was still firing. Indifferent to the bullets, the monster insinuated its mass through the walls, making them bend more with its wings.

— THEY ARE HERE ! THE GRIMMS ARE HERE !" he shouted even though he no longer had his radio.

Vlad, curled up in the back of the room, saw Grimm's beak reaching for him. Remembering that the door was next to him, he tried to reach the handle. The Nevermore rushed and Vlad knew that it was over for him even before the giant beak cuts him at the level of the hip.

.

The Grimms attacked, devastated the protective walls and rushed like a deluge into the colony. One of the Beowulfs, formerly the scout of the horde, spotted a human figure in front of him. Its lips curled up at the idea of plunging its fangs into the human flesh. With a roar excited, it threw himself on its victim.

The "victim" lifted his leg to the height of his face and slammed it on Grimm's skull. Its head exploded like an overripe tomato.

The sound of cannon shot he generated stopped the other Grimms.

They roared ferociously at the death of their fellow. Like a pack of wolves, they surrounded the Man in Black. His sword hung to his belt, but he seemed to have forgotten its very existence. He lowered his hood, revealing a stoic face, black hair mid-long in battle, and black eyes without emotion.

A Creep roared and charged the eldest of the Four. He stretched out his hand in front of him and stopped the Grimm three times bigger than him! Then with a gesture just as easy, he lowered his hand and the Creep found himself the head embedded in the concrete. The pressure quickly became too much for the Grimm, whose head exploded between the iron fist and the ground.

The sound of flesh and broken bones stirred the wrath of the Grimms, who all threw themselves at the same moment on the Man in Black. His fists began to bleed when black scales pierced the surface of his skin…

* * *

But if the Grimms of the North Gate were quickly stopped, it was not the case for the rest of the Horde who plunged Mountain Glenn into chaos by destroying everything in its path ! The only stronghold that still resisted was the station, but for how long ?

An Ursa charged in spite of machine-gun discharges in its body and rushed against an improvised barricade that gave way under the shock, the five soldiers who had taken refuge behind were thrown in the air like dislocated puppets. One of them fell near the Ursa, who approached its jaws of the wounded man.

Three ice-spears reached the monster's skull before it could attack the man. Eliminating methodically the Grimms, the STRQ team relieved considerably the defenders of the station. Qrow and Raven were working as a duo to eliminate as many Grimms as possible while Summer used her Maiden abilities to reach the Nevermore and Griffons in the air, leaving it to Tai to take care of those who would sneak up all the way to him.

— Tai !" warned Summer when a Griffon pierced her defenses and landed among the soldiers.

— Aye Aye !

The Grimm roared like a T-rex at the sight of the blond coming quietly to it, banging his fists against each other, calm against this serious opponent.

The Griffon yielded to his vile instincts and charged this enticing prey.

Calmly, Taiyang calculated his stroke, judged the Aura necessary to spend and act. He would not get a second chance against a Griffon. When the Grimm was on him, he crossed his arms in front of him. The monster's charge cast him off into wooden crates !

— Man down !

— No need," Raven told to the soldier without appearing worried about her comrade's fate.

Tai emerged from the rubble, something new in him.

— Serious things begin !

His lilac eyes turned red and his blond hair shone like the sun. His Aura was feeding on the damage he had just taken. The Griffon growled a defiant roar and charged again. Taiyang was not one of the Four, but for a moment, his strength approached them. With a fist, he stopped the charge of the Griffon. The latter scratched the ground hoping to resume its race, but Taiyang's strength was too strong for it at that moment. He squeezed his other fist and the force of his blow tore off the upper part of the skull from the rest of the Griffon's body. The creature collapsed with a clatter while evaporating.

— I could do this all day…

He banged his fists again for the Grimms who were still coming.

— There are more that coming ! We must evacuate now !" ordered a lieutenant.

— The Commander still has not ordered us to retreat !" protested a soldier.

— We do not have enough to hold the station more than a few minutes !

While the soldiers were looking for what decision to take, Summer heard her Scroll ring and pick up.

— Here Summer !

— Miss Rose ...?" asked a weak but recognizable voice.

— Commander Scharnhorst ?

The soldiers turned to her at the announcement of their leader.

— Commander ? What is happening ?

— Men... Here... I think it's the leaders of the attack... They killed all my men... Come help me... I have to reach my office before it's too late...

— We are coming right away ! Hold on, Commander !

— I... think I heard one... SHIT !

The connection was abruptly cut off. Summer's hands began to shake

— Oh no ! Commander !

Summer's first desire was to run to HQ, but without her, it would be hard for the soldiers to protect themselves from the flying Grimms. It was necessary to split the Team STRQ in two groups of two…

— Let us go, Summer !

She turned to Qrow and Raven who had just wiped out twenty Grimms who were attacking the barricades. They enjoyed a brief lull before the entire horde was on them. The Branwen were the only ones to quickly reach Scharnhorst...

— Tai and I, we will hold them back the time it will take !

It was a lie and everyone knew it. Their Auras to both were greatly diminished, even with all the best will in the world, they will not hold more than half an hour...

— Let's go !" Raven ordered his brother, becoming a raven under the stupefied eyes of the soldiers.

Her brother imitated her and a second raven rushed into the sky, flapping his wings towards the headquarters. Summer watched them fly, go unnoticed among the Nevermores...

— You're rather strange, even for Huntsmen," the lieutenant told her.

Summer did not answer that remark. She just raised her head to the sky where the Nervermores and Griffons were swarming.

— Let's continue.

* * *

Lux stabbed his dagger to the hilt under the Shadow's chin and used his other dagger to deflect the claws of a second Shadow who was going to eviscerate him. Sélénée slammed her scythe into Grimm's skull and left her weapon there. Two less, only two left.

The two human abominations had an unprecedented behaviour : they fled. Both took opposite paths to divide their pursuers. The Four did not follow them. They were there to slaughter as many Grimms as possible, not to focus on any particular Grimms, no matter how powerful they are. The _signal_ and the Laws passed in priority...

Raptoria cut off her shield and joined them. Sélénée and Lux were unharmed. At full strength, the Shadows were like small fry.

— Eo, Lux.

— Eo my sister. I would have liked to see you in other circumstances... Are you okay ?

She put a hand on her ribs.

— Broken ... But I already took care of it…

Her brother approached the body of a Shadow but before he could examine it, the corpse evaporated in a cloud of black smoke. The dagger planted in the flesh fell to the ground rattling and he retrieve it, just like his sword.

— They will come back very soon," he announced to his sisters.

— Let them come back ...," spat Sélénée.

— That's what they'll do. Soon.

— What ?

— When these things die, they reappear with the Seer nearest to our position, probably not far from here...

— So that's it, his final weapon against us? To push us to fight until we exhaust all our Energy ? What a bitch !

— We cannot win this war of attrition. Not in our state," said Raptoria.

Her proverbial wisdom was only a confirmation of what they already knew.

— And what if the Seer is destroyed ?" asked Sélénée.

— It would be necessary to locate it in this hurricane of negativity, and even then we should go through the Grimms. Do you want to try a sally ?

— Very funny.

She was exhausted for two decades, but she still knew how to recognize sarcasm in her brother's voice. She dug her scythe into the ground, sat on a block of collapsed wall, and took a packet of cigarette out of her pocket.

— In my condition, I'll not do more than a few meters out of the colony. And anyway... We're not saviors...

She lit one and handed the package to her brother, whom he did not refuse. He put the cigarette to his lips and a flame danced for a moment in the air to light it. Through the thin screen of his smoke, he discerned in the dark the first Grimms encircle their position. At a glance, he knew that his sisters also knew that the danger was around them now. It was too late to flee and anyway, they had nowhere to go.

— This city will perish like all the others, we're here to adjust the balance...

He stretched his head towards the sky, at the same moment when two crows passed over them. They all felt the magic signature that enveloped these two Huntsmen and who had rewarded them with such a gift.

— Those idiots persist in delaying the inevitable...," he sighed.

— Were we not like them before ?" replied Raptoria.

— And look where it got us," Sélénée returned." We are dead more than alive. Our names and our past are no more !

Her anger stopped as abruptly as he had risen. She herself was at the end of everything... Emotions did not matter as the Grimms began to get closer, more and more numerous...

— Whatever…," Sélénée said." Let them die...There will always be other Huntsmen to replace them... But there will be no one to replace us.

— And does that make us more worthy of living ? To die by helping others, is it worse than to live an eternity to flee ?" asked Raptoria.

Her sister sighed and threw her consumed cigarette at the Grimms.

— Ok, ok... Anyway, as long as we do not transgress the Laws, we are free to act as we want...

She tore her scythe off the ground and made a few reels towards the Grimms.

— Our big brother holds the North entrance. I take care of the South. Go for it.

Lux and Raptoria had a moment of hesitation. In her condition, she had no chance and she knew it. Raptoria stepped forward to stay by her side but her brother put his hand on her shoulder. He shook his head. She had made her choice...

— You will need it more than me," he said, throwing at her one of his daggers, which she grabbed without even looking.

— You might regret missing a weapon in combat.

— Who knows ?

He left without a look behind him.

— Good luck," said Raptoria before disappearing in turn.

Sélénée smiled almost in spite of herself as the Grimms approached her like sharks attracted by a wounded prey. Among Creeps and Beowulfs, there were Death Stalkers... There were too many to count. Too much according to the sounds of claws and joints that reigned around her.

She no longer had the strength to change her eyes. They were no longer afraid to move quickly on her.

— I am not afraid…

The last thought she had before the Grimms were on her was that there was no need for luck for those who were not trying to live...

And after, she was engulfed in the wave of monsters...

* * *

Qrow and Raven resumed human form in front of the headquarters of Mountain Glenn.

In spite of the darkness, the brightness of the moon was reflected on the ground strewn with body. The smell of blood and corpses made them want to throw up, but since their childhood in the Tribe, they used this relent after the passage of the Grimms... Or bandits of their family...

They entered the headquarters cautiously.

The lighting was cut, impossible to see properly inside. They advanced stealthily, trying not to bump anything in their progress, orienting themselves according to the few memories they had of the building. It was necessary to find Scharnhorst as soon as possible but the precipitation would be fatal to them here. The attackers were probably still here…

From memory, the commander's office was halfway up the building... The elevators were surely out of order, they had to walk down the stairs. Raven found the ramp and began to climb. She climbs each step with growing concern in her. She felt that something was wrong without knowing exactly what it was. The individuals who attacked them did not bother to hide, on the contrary, they preferred to show themselves to everyone and plunge their targets into the desperation of helplessness...

— Qrow ...," she whispered.

— Something's wrong, huh ?

She nodded. Her brother shared the same opinion as her.

— STRQ team...?" murmured a weak voice.

— Commander ?

Raven and Qrow moved cautiously towards the origin of the voice. Scharnhorst was not far...

He was unhurt, but had lost his helmet and rifle. Lacerations had reduced his battle armor in tatters.

Scharnhorst watched them come to him with an inner smile. Poor idiots ... A real Huntsman would have been on his guard against a surprise attack. Real rookies... were they the so-called Ozpin students...? The level had dropped well ...

Raven knelt beside him and briefly checked his condition. He pushed back her help.

— It's ok... It'll be fine... I have to join my office, it's not far...

Qrow and she helped him up. He could have done without it, but he must appear as credible as possible in injury - injury that he himself had inflicted. As a veteran of the battlefield, he knew enough about the human body to mutilate himself without risking his life.

— They are two... My men wanted to hold them so that I go to activate the bet, they had no chance... (He suddenly remembered the situation they were in.) And the station ?

— All the inhabitants are in the underground city. We must blow the entries now! Qrow told him.

He nodded and looked up at the ceiling of the floor.

— The next floor... We're just above.

Scharnhorst had only one pistol to oppose against the enemies of the Four but he refused to let them go alone. He led them to his office without encountering any opposition. The enemies had mysteriously vanished...

Scharnhorst was the first to exclaim when they arrived in his office still in pieces after the grenade blast.

— Oh no... NO !

He rushed to his desk and opened a secret drawer. The entire electrical system had jumped at the same time as the desk. It was the end...

The commander heard Qrow and Raven walk behind him. His expression was that of a man afflicted by fate but slowly, very slowly, he brought his hand armed with his pistol against him, ready to kill these two idiots of Huntsmen...

He felt the tip of a blade put on his neck.

It was Raven's katana !

— Summer or Tai might have fall for that... But not us. I almost bet it was true," she said coldly.

Qrow imitated his sister and it was two swords that threatened the traitor's neck.

— Unfortunately for you, _buddy_ , we are used to lying at home. You see, the one who lied badly was deprived of meals. Believe me, we quickly learned to guess the truth in others.

— And then... You trapped yourself like an idiot the moment we found you. The radio room is at the very top of the headquarters, it would have been logical to find you on a floor between here and the one of the radio but you waited for us _before_.

Scharnhorst realized that he had seriously underestimated the Huntsmen and bowed his head.

— You are indeed the Ozpin Huntsmen... Well done... But you can never win. You have already lost !

He turned on himself and aimed at the Huntsmen !

Not fast enough…

He knew it when he saw Raven's sword drawing a red curve under his eyes and he felt a strange cold sensation in his neck.

.

Raven cleaned the blood on the blade of her katana.

Scharnhorst was a traitor and was dead. There was nothing else to add. Her brother simply shrugged at the sight of the decapitated body, this guy had only what he deserved...

— Unfortunately, he is right on one point: Mountain Glenn is lost.

— Vale will probably blow the tunnel before the Grimms reach the heart of the Kingdom. Stop worrying about this country, it's not our homeland.

He gave her an annoyed look.

— Would you say that in front of Summer ?

— And you ?

He did not answer, merely sheathing his heavy sword on his back.

They went down the stairs, went back to the bodies and went out.

Outside someone was waiting for them.

A man dressed in white.

He had the hood lowered on his back and held his sword in his hands.

He was finishing off a lonely Beowulf but at the sight of the deep cuts in the ground and surrounding walls, he must have faced an entire pack of Grimms.

Had he come here to protect their backs while they were operating in the headquarters ?

With one hand, the Man in White grasped the Beowulf by the neck and with the other thrust his sword right into the heart. The Grimm died instantly. Its body faints in the night.

The Man in White sheathed his Argent sword and turned to them.

For the first time, they saw his face perfectly.

Deep dark circles hollowed his face devoid of emotion. Fatigue and pain had no hold on him. It was a ghost.

The wind blew on his gray hair and his blue eyes stared at them, impenetrable and cold like the ocean. Qrow and Raven had the unpleasant feeling that his gaze was passing through them and was looking for something far away but very personal in their depths. The two young adults of the Tribe remembered their father, saying to be wary of indecipherable looks. There was behind this void a beast unimaginable... There was behind this emptiness a beast unimaginable ... It was not equal to the one of the Man in Black but its ferocity remained deadly for them. They were lifeless beings, like Grimms, and they reacted like animals, facing each other… They were lifeless beings, like Grimms, and they reacted like animals, facing each other.

Their instincts warned them of the danger, they guessed coming from the immense forces to which they could scarcely contain.

— Leave. There is only Death here for you.

His voice was only a breath in the darkness. A death voice. No life thrilled the words he used. But his order displeased Raven who decided to sit down in front of him.

— No. Decidedly, all that does not suit me at all !

— Raven ?

Behind her, Qrow looked at her as if she had lost her mind.

— I don't follow the orders of people except those of the Tribe. I choose to stay where I am... except if you come with us.

The Man in White hesitated.

— You will die here. Your actions and your past will disappear from History.

— We never expected to immortalize our names.

A silence. Behind that unfathomable look, there was discomfort.

He resumed in a voice empty of all human warmth.

— Then I'll have to kill you.

— I'd like to see you try ...," Raven answered with a confident smile

Qrow grabbed her arm, realizing the danger she was running!

— What are you doing, damn it ?!

She pushed her hand away unceremoniously.

— If I do not attack and stay here, the Four cannot remain impassive. Where they act, they have the duty to protect Humans and Faunuses, not the cities.

The Man in White did not move at once, he remained silent, opaque and nothing in the expression of his face left guess what he thought.

— _**Oh ? Do you really know the chains that bind us to this life ? We are free to act according to our conscience. Whatever the price to pay…**_

He put his hand to his sword. Immediately, Qrow imitated him!

— _**You're a hindrance. And I'm free to kill you for that.**_

Raven's smile disappeared, but she refused to move, even though her whole body screamed at her to run ! With determined eyes, she stared at the Man in White and his sword. She forced her mind to cast off all doubt. She was unaware of what drove the Four to help people at times and leave them out to others ! She had made a bet and now she had to face the consequences.

She restrained herself from trembling when the Man in White unsheathed and pointed his sword at her, a few millimeters from her forehead. A slight pressure forward would be enough to kill her…

— If we were really an obstacle to your fight... (She swallows with difficulty ...) You would have killed us at the station when we tried to stop you...

The second that passed seemed to last long minutes.

Raven's forehead was sweaty. She refused to die here while the future of the Tribe rested in her hands ! She had integrated with Qrow the Beacon Academy to learn how Huntsmen fought and how to save her family from them.

The Man in White thrust his sword into the forehead...

.

…Of a Grimm who was about to leap silently into Qrow's back !

The monster fell to the ground, waving the air with its powerful paws in a last gesture of agony. Qrow, once the surprise was over, pointed his pistol sword at the dying creature and gave it the coup de grace. He had just been saved...

The Man in White held out his hand towards his weapon. The latter tore itself from the smoking body of the beast and returned to its owner via telekinesis.

Raven did not move. She had no flutter or flinch when the wind of the blade had whistled beside her ear.

She continued to stare at the Man in White while waiting for his answer. It came when he sheathed, ceasing hostilities.

— I cannot leave the colony. But I can help you leave this place.

— Mountain Glenn has an explosive system to seal the entrances to the station in case of an attack by Grimms...

— I know," he cut it.

— You know ?" Qrow raised an eyebrow.

— I was there sixteen years ago when they built the station...

He hid his face under his hood, turned and walked like an automaton towards the last luminous spot of the colony.

— You'll know how to activate it ?" Raven asked, getting up to follow him.

— Yes.

The Branwen began to follow him from a distance. Qrow smiled at his sister in a naughty way.

— What ?" she asked, a little embarrassed by his expression.

— For someone who has nothing to do with this kingdom or this colony, you've been rather efficient !

She looked away. All of this was Summer's fault and her damn ideals…

— Shut up…

Suddenly, the Man in White stopped at once. Eyes wide open facing North. It was the first time he had managed to express something on his face… A glimmer of worry.

— Something's wrong ?

He did not answer immediately. His face relaxed quickly as his fear faded.

— It's nothing… Death is eternal after all…

He resumed his walk, as if nothing had happened…

* * *

 _ **Give me your name…**_

 _ **Are you not tired ?**_

 _ **So you walk eternally through the shadow realms…**_

 _ **How many times have you died...?**_

 _ **Standing against evil where all others falter…**_

 _ **How many times have you wanted it...?**_

 _ **May your thirst for retribution never quench…**_

 _ **How many ways…?**_

 _ **How many by ennemis…?**_

 _ **May the blood on your sword never dry…**_

 _ **How many by allies…?**_

 _ **And may we never need you again…**_

 _ **Wake up…**_

* * *

He opened his eyes, surprised to have lost consciousness for a few moments in the middle of a fight.

Blood flowed on the face of the Man in Black.

His blood.

He got up from the floor and pulled himself out of the steaming Beringer carcass that had disfigured him and that he tore its heart back. He did not even have time to stand up completely as the sting of a Death Stalker sank into his abdomen and lifted him into the air. He grabbed the yellow as gold dart with his two hands and tore it from the tail of the abominable scorpion. He fell to the ground and tore off an Ursa's head with his bare hands. Other Grimms continued to come to him and he continued to kill them. A Beowulf Alpha attacked him in the back and tore a piece of flesh from his shoulder. He grabbed the predator's throat and crushed it like paper. A Griffon threw itself at him from the sky and devoured him entierely. The Man in Black escaped by tearing the belly of the creature. He emerged from agonizing Grimm's bowels like a parody of birth and faced the rest of the horde.

He still had not drawn his sword.

The Grimms threw themselves on him and he killed them with an emotionless look. He did not even look alive as he was causing death around him.

A claw cut off his Achilles tendon, he fell to the ground and another Beowulf tore off his right arm. He got up nevertheless, insensitive to the pain. The flesh on his shoulder, the hole in his belly, his tendon and his arm ... All his serious wounds regenerated themselves by covering themselves with black scales like Sélénée...

No matter how bad he was, he could not die. So what did it matter to him to be hurt by these pitiful creatures ?

In front of him, the Grimms parted to leave the passage to a huge Goliath. The colossal-sized elephant uttered a deafening barrage and charged ! The Man in Black watched the titan rush at him and calmly, held out his hand.

His palm did not produce a shield, he simply stopped the brute force of the Goliath, which flickered, the brain bursting with its own shock. The colossus collapsed in front of the eldest of the Four, causing an earthquake.

As soon as they could get back on their feet, the Grimms charged him, indifferent to the scene that had just happened before them. In the same hand, the Man in Black decapitated the head of the nearest Grimm, and killed the next, then a third, and so on. He did not even try to defend himself when claws lacerated him. This kind of pain was insignificant for him since a long time.

He had only to kill as he knew how to do it so well and not to worry about his own safety.

Kill... Until the day he will be killed...

He still had not drawn his sword.

* * *

— What an abomination...," Arthur sighed as he watched the slaughter that caused the Man in Black below.

From the hill, the Champions waited. The announcement of Scharnhorst's death was boring but did not compromise the durability of the mission. He turned to the Seer who was finishing its incantation. In a last jabbering of teeth, the Grimm materialized a dark portal from the ground, from which a black fog escaped. The same mist as that emerged from Sélénée' body or...

Before he could resume the thread of his thoughts, a horrible reptilian hand snatched away from the darkness ! A roar echoed from the ground as Arthur and the others cautiously recoiled from the gate. On by one, Shadows rose from the vortex. As their scales retracted under the black flesh, Grimm's protuberances appeared on their bodies.

The Shadows were back.

One by one, they turned their heads towards the Champions of Salem. Their red eyes stripped of emotion.

— Go ahead," Arthur ordered.

The creatures remained motionless. Arthur frowned. It was the first time he had invoked these monsters since the Hereafter, but according to his Queen, they were as docile as the common Grimms... Why this lack of reaction ?

One of the Shadows made a threatening step towards him, its mouth full of fangs opened and closed several times while its eyes without pupils stared at him like a cat on a mouse...

— Oh…? Would you need some training, you filthy dog ?

Arthur's hand became animated and a powerful heat accumulated there, ready to be released against the enemies of his master.

Sensing the danger hovering, the Grimm instinctively retreated and rejoined its pack.

— It's better. Obey the orders !

This time, the Shadows obeyed. With one bound, they covered the distance that separated them from the colony. More than five kilometers at the very least...

— Should we go too ?" asked Nova, looking at his left hand, shaking slightly.

— Yes.

The man with the aviator's glasses clenched his fist until he bleed.

— Perfect…


	19. Chapter 15 - A Light in the Dark

**CHAPTER 15**

 _ **A LIGHT IN THE DARK**_

* * *

The lifeless body of a huge Nervermore collapsed at Summer's feet.

She fell on her knees, exhausted. She had exhausted all her Aura to use her power. Tai was hardly in better shape than she was. The soldiers still held the entrances to the station, but they lacked men. More and more wounded had gone underground without anyone to replace them.

From all the streets came Grimms. It was endless... She was praying for Qrow and Raven to come back as soon as possible. Since they had left, she had not heard from them.

A soldier emptied his charger on three Beowulfs and desperately searched for a new loader on one of his comrades on the ground.. They were all running out of ammo!

— Come on, Raven...

— Summer ! LOOK OUT !

She did not have time to react to Taiyang's warning that a King Taijitu was creeping toward her ! The two heads of the snake tried to bite her with their formidable fangs but bumped into the invisible shield that enveloped the young Huntress. A new petal faded on the flower. Summer guessed that once the flower had completely faded, she would no longer benefit from this miraculous protection.

She held out her hands in front of her and froze the black snake's head. It was easy for Taiyang to break it into pieces with one punch. Indifferent to the death of its brother, the Taijitu's white head tried to bite the Huntsman.

Tai quite easily avoided the snake's fangs, but it was not Grimm's attention. Its body encircled Taiyang like an arena with impregnable ramparts, his only escape was to jump, but the white head of the reptile interposed between him and the exit.

The Taijitu opened its mouth at the sight of this prey unable to flee...

— Oh~… I hope you're hungry !" Tai smiled, gathering his strength in his fist.

When the snake threw its head toward him, Tai seemed to catch fire, turning the Huntsman into a human torch that leaped like a rocket right into the open mouth of the Grimm ! He rushed through the fangs that guarded the entrance to hell and then crossed its mouth to the bottom where the throat began and hit the mucous wall ! The back of the white Taijitu skull exploded in a mixture of flesh and flames! Tai lands in the middle of the smoking pieces of the snake.

\- And enjoy your meal !

Summer saw him kneel down. They knew that his Semblance was extremely greedy in Aura and this kind of prolonged fight played against him.

A Beowulf wanted to take advantage of this moment of weakness to bring him down. Summer materialized a bow of ice between her hands and shot an arrow that reached the Grimm in the head.

— We're even !" she thanked him.

— You don't owe me anything.

.

Summer caught sight of a band of Creep charging through the soldiers towards the entrances to the station. She stretched her hand from left to right, leaving behind a faint bluish mist. This Dust crystallized in stakes of ice which reached all their targets...

She could not allow one of these monsters to enter the station!

— Tai, you have to contact Qrow or Raven... Tai ?

She turned to him and found that he had not moved from where he was. He had got up but was barely stnding on his legs and his eyes had returned to their lilac color.

He had exhausted all his Aura and was facing too many Grimms !

\- TAI !

She stepped between them and Taiyang, grabbed him by the waist and jumped back among the soldiers.

— Suppressive fire ! Cover the Hunstmen !" ordered the lieutenant when the firing zone was cleared.

The bullets shot several Grimms, but not as much as hoped. There were only five soldiers left to hold the entrances.

— Chief, I have no more ammo !

— Same here ! A loader ! Quick !

The situation became critical. Summer understood it.

With her last reserve of Aura, she invoked an ice saber of a size disproportionate to her, with petals of flowers as a guard.

She took the sword with both hands and cut five Grimms at once !

— I made a promise to Scharnhorst ! I would defend Mountain Glenn !

The Grimms passed the abandoned barricades and encircled the three entrances of the station that Summer was ready to defend to the end.

An Ursa Alpha charged first and Summer sliced it in two from top to bottom. She swung her ice saber as soon as a Grimm dared to approach too much. A Death Stalker stepped towards her and she swung her sword in the hope of keeping him away.

But the scorpion monster grabbed the huge blade between its claws and broke it with a sharp stab. The pieces of ice broke into the hands of Summer.

— Damn it !

The lieutenant put a hand on her shoulder.

— Go downstairs with your friend. We will try to save you some time...

She saw the soldiers fasten their bayonets to the barrel of their rifles.

— No ! You will die !

— Evacuate her.

One of the soldiers tried to take her away from here, but she struggled. She could not let these men die needlessly ! She made a promise !

Something swirled in front of Summer's eyes. She blinked, watching the flower petal fall gently to the ground. Tears began to run down her cheeks.

— I beg you... Save them... Please…

.

And then, among the flames, the ruins and the rumblings of the Grimms, she heard a voice that answered her :

— Who am I to refuse the request of a Maiden ?

The Death Stalker stopped right in front of the humans and lifted its despicable head towards the roof of the station.

The Woman in White dropped from the roof and, thanks to her powers, landed softly in front of the Grimm. When the monster's brain registered the nature of its new prey, he uttered a piercing shriek and abruptly recoiled, its claws and its dart forward, like a posture of intimidation. Behind the scorpion, the Grimms recoiled too, trembling in fear. The weakest even fled !

Raptoria smiled sadly at the Grimms. She raised a hand and as we erase an error on a school board, moved her hand from left to right.

The Grimms in front of her suddenly became white, their old black color washed of their sins. On their white protuberances, cracks left a glowing light and in a few moments the Grimms disappeared.

Contrary to what Summer had expected, the monsters did not evaporate in black smoke. Much to her surprise, each monster closed theirs eyes and their body disintegrated into white flower petals ! She was not the only one to widen the eyes, gaping at such a spectacle.

Mysteriously caught in a draft, the petals began to whirl around the Woman in White. In the diffuse light, she seemed to be a star in a sea of darkness from whom levitated worlds eager for her light.

— Requiem...," she murmured.

At her words, the petals lost their luster and disappeared. The strange Aura that surrounded her fainted and she found herself alone.

In the neighborhood of the station, there was nothing left of the Grimms in the streets or in the sky, they had passed and had disappeared in the night.

The florist turned to Summer with a warm smile. With her slender fingers, she dried the tears that pearled in the eyes of the young Huntress.

— We must cry when we are happy, not in sadness.

Summer blinked, before sobbing of relief.

— Thank you…! Thank you for everything...!

Summer looked up at her again, Raptoria's smile was blown by the utter amazement. With the tears, Summer's lenses finally came off, revealing the true color of the young Huntress's irises.

— A Silver-Eyed...?" breathed a recognizable voice.

The Man in White was there, accompanied by Qrow and Raven. He was as shocked as his sister was at the sight of Summer's silver eyes.

Summer looked at them in turn, taken aback by their reaction. In what way were her eyes so surprising ?

Neither Raptoria nor Lux had time to recover from their surprise because a Shadow fell from the sky behind them. Its red eyes stared at Summer and her peculiar eyes. Its jaws parted and a voice from beyond the grave echoed in the square.

— _**Sil…ver… Eyed…**_

* * *

Hazel stomped through the streets of Mountain Glenn without fear of the threat of the few Grimms still roaming the part of the city. Those whom he met royally ignored him, too busy in reducing to shreds the bodies of the unfortunate settlers who had not had time to flee.

All Grimms were heading for the last three defended points of Mountain Glenn. And it was one of the last defenders that Hazel had the mission to defeat.

He walked among the ruins of a colony that he could have protected one day for his sister. Alongside the one he was about to face...

.

Before him, the Man in Black was finishing a Beowulf with his bare hands. He did not even turn around when a strange, familiar and hostile presence appeared in his back.

— _**Ten years ago, I spared the life of a warrior to whom I had amputated both arms. I told him that at Atlas, he had a chance to get prostheses... I also told him that if he recrossed my path, I will kill him... And here he stands again in front of me… What should I conclude, Hazel ?**_

The latter flinched. The words that came out of this mouth were still as empty of life as they were years ago...

— There is no need to shed more blood, Master.

The Man in Black finally turned to his former disciple. His red eyes fixed on him.

— _**Look at you... You're nothing. The suffering that runs through you is your only result...**_

— I do not feel the pain anymore.

A guttural roar came from the half-opened lips of the Grimms exterminator.

— _**Do you really believe it, Champion of Salem ?**_

Hazel clenched his fists and brought them to the pouches strapped to his legs.

— I made a wish, that of killing Ozpin. As many times as necessary. Nothing forces us to fight.

— _**The Guardian must live as long as Salem.**_

— So, it's decided.

.

The space of a blink of an eye, the Man in Black ran through the space between them ! His clawed fingers screeched on the metal of Hazel's prosthetics. Sparks spurted through the air around them, illuminating their faces for a few seconds, giving them an evil grin !

Blows were raining but neither of them could take advantage. Hazel knew that it was not his talent that kept him alive for so long... The Man in Black lacked Energy after years of restless fighting !

In full exchange of blows, the look of the Man in Black turned away from Hazel and jumped away, avoiding the ball that was intended for him.

It was only after the bullet ricocheted on the ground where he stood the moment before the shot sounded !

He had detected and avoided a bullet fired within 400 meters despite his fatigue. Hazel was only half-surprised. The instinct of the Man in Black was superior to anything a Human or a Faunus could imagine.

The Eldest of the Four lands nimbly further back, ready to avoid the next shot.

By calculating the point of impact and the angle at which the ball hit the ground, he mentally traced the starting point of the shot. His eyes searched the darkness briefly and landed on the camouflaged sniper 300 meters behind Hazel on the fifth floor of a building ransacked by the Grimms.

He saw him return the breech of his rifle backwards, engaging the next ball in the room. He also bore the mark of Salem ...

A sniper for the long range and a fighter for the body-to-body. A perfect duo in other circumstances. But facing their opponent, they were not enough. Two Champions against him ? Ridiculous, there was something else...

— _**You are not here for me.**_

— You have always been quick to understand.

.

Hazel took two Dust gems out of his pouches and infused them into his arms under the indifferent gaze of the Man in Black.

— _**Idiot. Injecting yourself directly from the Dust will simply poison your body.**_

Hazel could not hear him anymore.

The false veins in his prostheses lit up as the Dust spread in each room and overheated the mechanism !

His eyes opened wide and a terrible cry came out of his mouth ! The Dust made him grow in an uncontrollable rage. Hazel could no longer hear, speak, hear, or recognize anyone. His control systems were out of order and he only obeyed the violent desire to destroy the individual in front of him !

He stared electrified eyes at the Man in Black.

— _**You chose to die.**_

— I CHOSE VENGEANCE !" shouted Hazel, throwing herself on the Man in Black.

He narrowly avoided the punch, something was wrong...

Hazel repeated his stroke, then another and soon, it rained a series of powerful blows on the Man in Black who could only dodge the fists of Hazel, disconcerted by the speed boost of his former disciple ! But this madman no longer had the coolness of the real Hazel.

His attacks were fast and powerful but lacked coordination...

He threw a horizontal hook that was too predictable and heavy. This was the opportunity his opponent was waiting to bend down, avoiding the blow that grazed his head and directed his hand lined with sharp claws to the defenseless belly of his prey !

Marcus Black did not hear it that way.

The bullet he fired hit its target this time, the knee of the Man in Black.

The silver bullet shredded the flesh and dislocated the bone before emerging on the other side by cutting the popliteal artery.

The claws of the Man in Black passed next to the tender flesh of Hazel. Salem's Champion raised his fist and slammed it down on the face of the Eldest of the Four !

The shock wave bounced across the street and cracked the concrete walls and sidewalks !

.

This punch could have killed a Goliath or collapsed a building. But the Man in Black was neither one nor the other.

Through his sight, Marcus Black saw the face of his target barely tilted by the fist still frozen against him. The Elder of the Four looked up at Hazel, visibly also insensitive to the pain.

— _**That's all ?**_

Hazel finally recovered some of her reason and recoiled cautiously. He had trouble breathing. Was it a side effect of the Dust ?

— _**I was expecting better from you...**_

The Man in Black began to approach him, despite his broken knee!

Hazel pulled back again, unaware that he was interposing between Marcus and their target ! He had so much trouble breathing...

— _**You could have been the best warrior this world has worn. Look at yourself ... you are weaker than before. You rely too much on your Semblance and Dust. Admire the result ...**_

He lowered his head and saw blood flow abundantly from a wound in his chest. When did he…?

— _**Pain is a weapon for anyone who knows how to use it. You can chase her but she will always be there when you fail...**_

Hazel began to spit blood through her mouth. He fell on his knees, desperately snatching air through his mouth! The Man in Black leaned to his level and whispered in his ear:

— _**Now you are going to die, drowned in your own blood. Tell yourself that you will be able to see your sister again...**_ (His face seemed to be tinged with a moment of regret.) _ **Lucky you...**_

He disappeared with a bound, propelling himself at a boundless speed, crossed the 300 meters that separated him from Marcus and reappeared before him !

The assassin had the reflex to raise his rifle to try to shoot him at point-blank range.

The Man in Black did not give him time to act.

With his foot, he crushed the barrel of the rifle ! He reached out and wrapped his hand around his throat and dragged him back and shoved him against the wall.

Marcus tried to unsheathe one of his daggers hidden in his clothes...

It did not take more to the Man in Black.

With a slight pressure of the fingers, he broke his neck.

The disjointed body, Marcus collapsed on the ground.

He wanted to get up but his legs were not responding. He tried to crawl but his arms remained motionless.

Marcus finally realized he was paralyzed !

He, the best assassin of his generation, was dying by the hand of a myth, in the middle of a colony in flames. Fate had the gift of ridiculing the greatest !

A thousand questions passed in the head of the murderer : How did he do it ? Why Hazel was dying downstairs ? Why had he accepted the contract of this monstrous woman ?

Then he saw in the Man in Black a detail that had all its importance: the knee he was sure to have touched was covered with scales! It was not because the Man in Black was in the middle of a fight that he had managed to touch him.

He had calculated the shot !

While he was avoiding Hazel's blows, he had followed his aim from away and offered his leg as bait, concealing his scales under his pants. When the bullet had touched her, it had ricoched at the angle of the knee and reached Hazel's lung except that in his state of rage, he had not felt the blow!

Every piece was assembling together ! Marcus could not believe it! To succeed this plan to perfection, nothing should be left to chance ! It was superhuman !

But the Four had nothing of human...

He looked up at his executioner, certain that his time had come.

But the Elder of the Four did not finish him.

Curiously, his attention was directed to a point that only he could see.

It was time to put an end to Mountain Glenn...

Without a sound, the Man in Black disappeared in the night...

* * *

— _**Sil... ver... Eyed...,"**_ repeated the Shadow.

— Shit !" whispered the Man in White while facing the Grimm.

Emerging from the night, the four other Shadows joined their comrade. All had their faces turned to one same prey : Summer and her silver eyes.

— _**Silver... Eyed…**_

Lux and Raptoria interposed between the Grimms and their prey.

— Soldiers and Huntsmen, leave this place as soon as possible !" he ordered." I will blow the entrances. Pray that it will stop them...

— What are these things ?" asked Qrow.

— Not now ! Run !

The Man in White reached out his arms and immediately two of the three entrances of the station exploded! The rubble sealed definitively the access to the undergrounds.

— NOW ! RUN !

This time the soldiers and Team STRQ obeyed without question.

Before rushing into the last tunnel, Raven heard the voice of the Woman in White whispering to her :

— Protect her. She is our last hope...

Raven did not have time to stop and ask her what she was talking about. The tunnel exploded behind her and plunged them all into darkness.

* * *

— Ah~...! It must be twenty years that I did not find myself in such a state...

Sélénée advanced through the still smoking corpses of the Grimms, carrying her scythe on her shoulder. Her body was a wreck now, but she got a quick check-up...

She had lost two fingers on her left hand in the mouth of a Beowulf she had reduced to pulp on kicks. Her right collarbone was terribly swollen, she suspected it was broken. A Berringer had struck her in the ear and since then her distorted state balance. The inner ear was upside down... A Creep had cut off her left Achilles tendon and she had to drag her leg now. And considering the pain vibrating in each step, she must have several fractures in the vertebras...

Oh, and probably two three exploded organs to top it off...!

A real wreck... Fortunately she was not an ordinary woman or she would have died long ago !

— You look very bad to me. Would you accept the help of a generous person ?

She stopped, her fingers clenched around the shaft of her weapon. Always this mocking tone, this permanent irony in the voice...

— I'm a pretty big girl to care of myself.

Arthur Watts was there, naturally, like a jackal salivating before a carcass.

— You want to resume our battle ? I still have enough Energy to take you with me to the grave.

— Oh, I do not think you still have the strength to beat you, let alone kill me.

Selena turned to him. Only her eyes became reptilian express the fury that seized her.

— _**Would you bet on your life ? You are alone, without your little comrades to help you.**_

— Hazel is already back on the battlefield. Regarding Tyrian… It's true that you have hurt him well. I think his mind is no longer... How to say... Oh yes. "In step with reality". Our Queen will find another way to use him. If not so be it. There will always be new Champions eager to join our ranks.

— It concerns you too, you know ?

— I'm of a different level than a Faunus unable to resist your real eyes. I know what's behind.

Sélénée seizes her scythe, ready to fight !

— _**That's what you think ! Let me show you !**_

She jumped on him, trying to cut him in half. Arthur took a step back and avoided the blade. Sélénée tried to swing her weapon again, but her multiple wounds undermined her efficiency. Her attacks were slow and confusing.

Arthur could not stop laughing after another dodge.

— Look at you ! You hardly stand on your legs. In normal times, you could have killed me at least five times !

— Shup up !

She leaned on her left leg with the sliced Achilles tendon and fell to her knees. Before she could get up, Arthur grabbed her by the shoulders and pinned her to the ground. He straddled over her. She was so exhausted that she did not even struggle...

A rising feeling of victory came over Arthur Watts, who could not help but smile cruelly.

— It's over, Sélénée. I won !

To her surprise, she gave him a mocking smile.

— A prison stay, you mean ?

Arthur raised an eyebrow.

— What are you talking about ?

Then he heard ! In the distance, at the edge of the horizon ! A point of light in the nigh t! An Atlesian ship ! But what was he doing here ?!

— If I remember correctly, you're still wanted in all Mantle ... Oh, sorry, I must say Atlas now," she said, imitating her ironic tone." It seems that reinforcements have come in the end.

Suddenly, she grabbed him by the collar and brought his face closer to hers.

— What if we waited for them together ?

His red eyes seriously undermined Arthur's sanity !

— It does not matter how much they are ! They will never stop me with all these Grimms!

Sélénée had a crazy laugh, like Tyrian earlier!

— There should still be one left in the area ! In a few minutes, all life will disappear from the surface of Mountain Glenn !

Before he knew what to say, a shudder of terror ran through him !

He jerked his head toward the hills above the colony.

* * *

The Man in Black was on the top of the largest. From there, he could dominate Mountain Glenn.

Slowly, he took the handle of his katana in his right hand and the sheath on the left.

With gravity, he unsheathed, revealing a blade of a red like blood color !

With both hands, he grabbed the sword and pointed the blade at Mountain Glenn.

A strange red glow started reflecting on the contours of the blade, gaining intensity every second…

* * *

Arthur was not the only one watching this vision of an upcoming apocalypse, all the Grimms were looking at it too. And all started to flee ! They even passed by Lux and Raptoria who were still facing the Shadows. The five Grimms seemed to hesitate in the face of the windfall, but their survival instinct that drove them to flee was the strongest in this internal struggle.

* * *

His weapon sufficiently charged in Energy, the Man in Black raised it above his head...

Below, Lux and Raptoria wrapped themselves in a shield and closed their eyes. Perhaps they prayed, who knows ?

Panicked at the thought of dying, Arthur began to frantically hit Sélénée's face, but she refused to let go.

— Requiem, Arthur Watts.

The Man in Black kills his katana, forever sealing the fate of Mountain Glenn...


	20. Chapter 16 - Scavengers

**CHAPTER 16**

 _ **SCAVENGERS**_

* * *

Aboard the _Conviction_ , James Ironwood watched Glenn Mountain in flames and darkness. He hoped internally that it was still possible to save the settlers even if he seriously doubted it... He had heard Commander Scharnhorst's call on the radio. He had never met him in person, but he knew his reputation. It would be unfortunate to lose such a man in these times of crisis...

— Hood, did you finish the preparations ?

— The Atlesian Knight-130 will be ready for deployment in a quarter of an hour. All dropships are ready for takeoff.

— Perfect. I want Rook and you to secure the station. If I were in Scharnhorst's place, that's probably where I'll focus my defenses.

— Copy that. Let's hope they managed to stand firm... What's it ?

On the outskirts of the colony, a glow rises from a hill like a volcano.

One of the airship's pilots panicked in front of his console.

— Sir, our navigation devices go mad ! I don't know what's going on but...!

James did not answer. All his attention was drawn to this red light that burned his retina like a bloody sun. What did he see...?

And suddenly, in a terrifying silence, he saw the red sun stretch into a crescent-shaped wave falling on Mountain Glenn.

Behind the bay window of the ship, he attended the apocalypse...

.

A flash dazzles the whole valley as in daylight.

The blast swept the buildings, flames cleaned all forms of street life and a huge explosion destroyed the city! The fireball rose to the sky to form a monstrous death mushroom over the ruins of the colony.

All around the ancient city, the trees were flattened under the effect of an invisible force that was approching fast to the ship...

— Shockwave approaching! Everyone on the ground !

It was only by pure reflex that James threw himself on the ground at the same time as Rook.

The wave hit them hard! The shock threw against the opposite walls the soldiers and the crew members who had not had time to reach the floor while the windows and portholes burst into mortal pieces of shrapnel. The electric power was cut off all over the ship !

Without electricity, the _Conviction_ began to fall like a stone !

— EMI detected ! We are losing altitude !

Still stunned by the shock, James did not understand what was going on around him. He could hear voices but his eardrums were still whistling from the explosion and the falling sensation was nailing him literally to the wall without giving him the slightest freedom of movement. All he knew was that they were going to crash !

— Restart the engines !

— All electrical systems are fried ! I can't control the ship !

— BRACE FOR IMPACT !

The _Conviction_ brushed the treetops and hit the ground. It flipped over and sections and compartments separated from the main frame. The aircraft bounced in the air, flames sprunged from its engines and superstructure.

The flaming fragment of a propulsion module pierced the ship's armor and reached the ammunition bay. Dust's stocks of weapons and fuel exploded and the back of the _Conviction_ got blew to smithereens. The front of the airship crossed the sky, the forest, and the plain, and rolled up the walls around Mountain Glenn. The nose of the vehicule folded like paper against the fortifications and finally stopped.

* * *

James was breathing with difficulty. He felt he was being dragged out of the ship but he did not know where he was being taken. His head and back hurt terribly... When he woke up, the place around him had changed. Hood spoke to him softly.

— Commanding officer ? Can you hear me ?

— Yes... I'm fine...

He was helped by Rook to stand up. He had a deep cut in his forehead, above his right eye, but his wound was not incapacitating.

— Do me a report of losses ...

— The _Conviction_ is destroyed. All our robots and our dropships too. All the men in the back of the ship are dead.

— How many…?

— 800 dead at least. We have only about a hundred men under our command, and three-quarters are wounded.

James nodded gravely. It was the first time he had suffered such a catastrophe. He had to act as a leader and assume his responsibilities before the Council when he returned to Atlas. But for the moment, priority to his men.

— Where are we ?

— One of the security posts that guard the doors of the colony. We took refuge there to shelter the wounded, but it's a real mass grave inside... All the soldiers were dead when we arrived.

— The Grimms...

— No. Not them. There were bullet wounds and blade marks on them. No claws.

— The commando that Scharnhorst was talking about," James reminded himself.

— Probably.

James was recording the information as fast as his foggy mind allowed him.

— What about Mountain Glenn ?

— I let you judge…

Rook moved the commander to allow him to watch the colony through a window.

Outside, a mysterious black rain fell on the ruins of the peaceful colony of Vale. It was too dark to see anything else.

— What is it ?" James growled.

— Acid. Two soldiers were badly burned while trying to cross the rain. We are completely stuck for the moment.

James remained silent. He looked around and saw most of his men still alive lying on the floor, covered with bandages...

How such a thing was even possible ? What was this weapon of destruction capable of annihilating their superior firepower ?

— And the reinforcements of Vale ?

— We can not communicate with Ozpin. Nothing works since the EMI. Vale does not have as many airships as we do. I think they'll be here by early morning.

— What time is it ?

— Before the explosion : 3:30am.

In more or less 45 minutes... Without medical assistance, some of the injured might not hold on until then.

— We must find a way to reach the civilians at the station...

* * *

— We have to go on foot and reach Vale by following the railway," the lieutenant suggested.

Taiyang vetoed.

— There are elderly people among us. The march will finish them! And the terminus is probably sealed at the time we speak. The authorities have seen a train filled with hundreds of panicked civilians who say their settlement is invaded by the Grimms. How do you think they would act ? If Mountain Glenn falls, the whole kingdom can fall like a domino.

— So what did you want us to do ? That we sit on the ground waiting for reinforcements to come ? No Bullhead will pass through all the Nevermores and Griffons flying above Mountain Glenn !

— And this earthquake ?" Raven pointed out." Mountain Glenn is not in a seismic zone. It's probably a huge explosion.

— We have nothing in our arsenal capable of such power !

— The Four may be so...

— It's ridiculous ! No human being has such power! It would be known from a long time otherwise !

While Tai and Raven were arguing with the lieutenant, Qrow sat down next to Summer. She looked pretty shaken by the latest events.

— Do you still think about these Grimms ?

She nodded.

Grimms who talk... It was pretty terrifying already. And besides, these things seemed interested in her silver eyes.

— The Four also looked astonished at the color of my eyes ... I wonder if that's why Ozpin wanted me to wear these lenses.

— Personally, I prefer you like that.

She smiles.

— How nice. Thank you, Qrow.

— Don't thank me too quickly. With my bad luck, who knows what can happen ?

Summer knew that it was difficult for him to lead a normal daily life with his legendary misfortune. She tried to console him :

— I'm sure that one day, you'll be able to control your power.

— So now, it's me who needs to be comforted ?

They smiled at each other.

— You know, the Woman in Black... She immediately knew the nature of my Semblance. I wonder how ?

— Me too. It's strange... The Woman in White called me "Maiden".

— Like in the stories for the kids ?" Qrow joked.

— All we need now is an old magician !" said Summer with humor.

Qrow smiled with her but inside, he realized that she had just raised a point he had never paid attention to... It was Ozpin who gave them that power to turn into crows!

— _There is more in this world than you can imagine in your Tribe..._

It was what he had told them after Raven and he had accepted his offer: join one of his "special" teams in exchange for special abilities and his silence about their origins...

Ozpin would it be...? No. Impossible. He was not a magician out of a child's tale. Nor was he the man of two souls ! Ozpin had something different from the other Hunstmen but he did not know yet.

* * *

— Looks like it's starting to stop," Rook said, watching the rain.

— Perfect. We have to hit the road again !

James got up and took a gun from the ground next to a serious wounded man.

— Hood. I want you to stay here with a few men to take care of the wounded. Rook and the rest of the soldiers will come with me.

— Understood. Be careful, sir !

* * *

 _Tic_

Raven looked up at the ceiling of the station several hundred feet high. In the absence of daylight, dazzling orbs illuminated the interior of the underground city. Thanks to backup generators, electricity was still working in the depths of Mountain Glenn. Ironically, when she thought of Grimms' still teeming surface... Despite the social inequalities, the poor inhabitants who lived underground brought blankets and food to the refugees. The Huntress was watching them in the distance, mitigated in front of this help. Her Huntress's part forged by the time spent with Summer and the missions of the Team STRQ told her that humanity was fundamentally good in the most darkest hours. But the other part of her, shaped since her birth by her father and the Tribe, found these people pitiful. The weaks should not be helped. From the moment they were below you, they ceased to exist as men and became prey to loot and kill, or bait to entertain the creatures of Grimm and flee during this time.

— You still think to Dad, right ?

Qrow came to sit beside his sister and watch the help in action. He took his eternal bottle of alcohol out of his jacket and began to drink. It annoyed Raven.

— You should stop. Alcohol dulls reflexes in combat.

— What importance ? Did you see how much we were swept ?

— We are not strong enough yet, that's all.

— You really talk like Dad. For both of you, everything is just a matter of training and strength. We are considered among the best huntsmen, dammit !

— And you, you have been too mellowed since you met Summer. You know that our mission will end one day or another.

— And you know I don't wanna go home.

— You still have not explained why. The Tribe is our family !

 _Tac_

Qrow raised his head, as if overwrought by the conversation. Raven did not like him trying to avoid it!

— Tell me why instead of...!

— Listen...," Qrow whispered.

He had spoken like in a hunt. Immediately, Raven's anger was silent and all her senses were on the alert. She raised her head too.

 _Tic_

 _Tic_

 _Tac_

Someone was tapping on the other side of the rubble...

— Tai, Summer ...," Qrow called softly, putting his hand to his heavy sword.

His comrades also heard the blows and armed themselves.

Seeing the hustle and bustle of the Huntsmen, the lieutenant approached them, his hand on the handle of his rifle. He too heard the noises and he was the first to realize the meaning of the blows :

— Morse... It's morse code !

— Are you sure ?" Summer asked.

— Certain ! Listen... "Is-the-re-so-me-one-in-si-de" ? These are the reinforcements !

He grabbed a metal bar and responded by tapping on the rubble.

The sound of his blows on the stone gradually attracted the attention of the refugees.

\- What's going on ?

\- Wait a second...

A series of fast blows answered those of the lieutenant.

\- Stay back ! They say they will blow up the rubble !

All the refugees who had come closer were pushed back unceremoniously to avoid any risk.

A thud rang throughout the city ! The rubble began to tremble, the stone broke into fragments of the pile. Another blow sounded and this time, the rock fractured into pieces that fell in their turn from the rubble! At the third stroke, a fist pierced the rock face, letting a stream of fresh air rush into the station!

The hand grabbed the last rocks and pushed them without apparent effort, leaving room for a beautiful but cruelly wounded woman.

It was the Woman in Black.

She had lost her scythe and her cloak was in tatters. Her left arm, shoulder and neck were terribly burned and her right arm was missing ! She had made a garrotte to stop the bleeding.

But despite her condition, she smiles at the survivors.

— You can go out now. The Grimms are dead," she announced in a weak voice.

Her tired eyes noticed Summer's in the crowd.

— A Silver-Eyed, huh ? I understand better why now...

She turned around and staggered away, ready to collapse every moment.

Summer caught up with her !

— You are hurt ! Let us help you !

— Idiot... you'd better run away... They'll come back. They always come back... If they see you...

She does not say any more. Her eyes became glassy and she fell unconscious into the arms of the Huntress.

— Hey ! Hey ! Stay with me !

She watched it. The Woman in Black was still breathing, but her pulse was very weak !

Qrow came to his rescue.

— Ta i! Help me to carry her !

— OK !

The two Hunstmen lifted her up and put her under cover in the train station.

— Doc! We need a blood perfusion ! And plasma !

A doctor hastened to obey. Meanwhile, the lieutenant and the refugees discovered the new face of their city.

Their home was gone.

The buildings and streets were strewn with the ruins of their old life. The large and reassuring buildings were cracked or destroyed, all the windows broken. The streets once packed at this time of the year were empty and silent.

Moutain Glenn was no longer a colony. It was an open cemetery.

— If you want to collect your belongings, do it now," said the lieutenant to the survivors.

They dispersed, haggard, distressed, terrified by this city which was no longer theirs.

The lieutenant watched them wander the streets of Mountain Glenn and turned to the Woman in Black, who was being repatriated to the station. So, the legend of the Four fighting eternally against the Grimms was true. Unbelievable…

Without them and Team STRQ, few would have been the survivors of Mountain Glenn...

— Lieutenant !" called him a soldier on the radio. We met Atlas soldiers. They come to you, they also say they have wounded at one of our outposts.

— Atlas ? What are they doing here ?

— According to their leader, they responded to Commander Scharnhorst's SOS...

— I see... (He had a thought for his leader dead for the colony, according to Branwen's words.) Thank you Commander... When will they start the evacuation ?

— I'm sorry but it's impossible.

This statement came from an Atlas officer, injured above the right eyebrow. The man was accompanied by about fifty men.

— Who are you ?

— Commander James Ironwood, Captain of the airship _Conviction_. Lieutenant, I regret to inform you that our ship crashed at the edge of your colony. For now, we are stuck with you.

— Like all of us... Since you're here, give us a hand if you do not mind ? I think that the Grimms had decamped but you never know...

— I understand. My men will help you patrol the city.

— Thank you.

James watched as the crowd of refugees emerged one by one from the bowels of the underground train station.

— Looks like you're good. Losses ?

— Almost zero. For civilians anyway. For the military... Well, let's say that I am the most senior of the dozen who remains...

— And Commander Scharnhorst ?

The lieutenant shook his head sadly.

— I see. My condolences…

— He knew what he was doing. And without the help of the Huntsmen of Beacon or the Four, we would never have done so long...

James cut him off.

— The Four ?

* * *

Summer was sitting at the bedside of the Woman in Black.

The doctor had given her first aid, but only a specialized institution could now save her. He had himself confessed that it was a miracle that she was still alive with so many wounds.

The Huntress was overflowing with questions but was struggling with patience. This person needed rest.

Who really were the Four between the legend that had been built for them and the reality ? Who were they fighting for and why were his silvery eyes so disturbing to them and these humanoid Grimms ?

At her side, the rest of Team STRQ waited in silence. Tai was of the same nature as Summer, always worried about his neighbor. But Qrow and Raven were there for the sake of their comrades. Qrow for Summer and Raven for Tai.

Qrow's wound on his throat had cleared up with his Aura, but he still remembered very well the sensation he felt at her touch...

The Four were dangerous...

Who knew what she would do when she woke up ?

— How did they do that ? To Mountain Glenn, I mean ?" Taiyang wondered.

— I think Ozpin hid a lot of things about them," Raven said darkly.

— We'll have the opportunity to learn more once back in Beacon," Qrow said to finish off the subject.

* * *

Someone approached them. They were surprised to discover a soldier from Atlas accompanied by the lieutenant and a dozen armed soldiers behind them !

James Ironwood examined the Woman in Black and recognized her through Count Dimer's description. Her beauty, black hair and the tattoo under her right eye was revealing...

— Thanks for watching her. We are taking care of her from now. Go for it…

Two soldiers laid a stretcher and wanted to put the woman there. They ran up against Summer's categorical refusal ! She jumped up and immediately her friends mimicked her, ready to follow their leader.

— Wait a minute ! Who are you ?

— Commander James Ironwood. This woman is actively sought after by Atlas for sequestering a count and stealing military information.

— This woman has saved all of us !

— That does not excuse her crimes.

— You don't think seriously to move her in this state !" Taiyang choked." Look at her ! She needs to go to a hospital, not a prison !

— My men are professionals. We will take her to Mountain Glenn HQ and evacuate her to Atlas where she will be treated and appear before a military court.

— Except we have orders to bring her to Beacon! You have no jurisdiction in Vale !

— I have the authorizations ! And the will to avoid a diplomatic conflict ! Lieutenant !

The leader of the surviving soldiers nodded reluctantly and let the soldiers of Atlas move the Woman in Black on the stretcher.

— Lieutenant ! I beg you, don't let him do that...!

— I'm sorry... But Commander Ironwood has the Vale's Council's authorization to act on the whole kingdom. I wish there was another way but there is none.

— But...!

Raven put her hand on Summer's shoulder. Once again, they had to back down in the face of adversity. They were Huntsmen, not vigilantes. They too had to obey...

But this time, Raven's hand was not there to restrain her, but to protect her.

— Stay back, Summer…

.

For at the entrance of the station, a man was standing against the current of the column of refugees who went outside. The man had a hood and a black coat, and without a gesture, the survivors unconsciously avoided him like a rock in the middle of a river ...

Following the worried look of the Huntsmen, James discovered the Man in Black in the crowd. His terrifying red gaze stared intently at him ...

— Rook.

— Aye Aye, chief.

The young recruit quietly advanced towards the Eldest of the Four.

— Hey, guy ! Sorry to disrupt your look-that-kills but your girlfriend needs to go to court. Nothing serious ! I swear !

The eyes of the Man in Black moved to land on the soldier.

— _**Move.**_

With a blow beyond human capabilities, the Man in Black sent Rook against the wall of a building, more than 500 meters away !

— Rook !" cried a soldier.

— Aah… I knew that he sucks at negotiations…," sighted a second.

At the sight of the soldier projecting like a puppet in the air, the inhabitants scattered out panicking, believing that the fighting was resuming in the colony ! The firing zone immediately cleared, the soldiers pointed their weapons at the Man in Black.

— Aim at the legs. Ozpin wants them alive.

One of the soldiers aimed at the knees and fired. Curiously, none of the bullets hit the spot.

Outside, the panic of the refugees resumed even more to the sound of the shots but no one dared to approach the entrance of the station.

There was not a minute to lose.

With a measured slowness, the Man in Black stepped towards them, bathing in his omnipotence.

— What are you waiting for ? FIRE !" ordered the lieutenant to the men of Atlas.

— Our weapons are not functioning ! I don't know why... !

The air suddenly seemed to miss him... His veins swelled and his muscles tensed ! He collapsed on the ground, his eyes bulging and drooling on his lips !

One by one, all the soldiers, even the lieutenant, were struck by this sudden tetanic crisis with the exception of James and the Huntsmen !

Yet despite the situation, the commander of Atlas did not panic. He always had an asset in hand.

His patience was rewarded. Behind the Man in Black, there was a blurring that vaguely took the form of a human in action of attack !

The inhuman senses of the Eldest of the Four perceived the threat, allowing him to bend down to avoid the kick in the neck that was intended for him. He turned on himself, ready to retaliate but there was no one behind him... He heard a noise of friction behind him and discovered the soldier he had sent to waltz in the air...

— Rook, you can go at full force.

— Copy that, Commander.

The soldier removed his helmet, revealing two cheetah ears on the top of his head.

The truth that the soldier was a Faunus did not disturb the Man in Black. Impassive, he waited for his opponent to take the first step.

— Last warning ! I have the training and the abilities of a Huntsman ! You have no chance.

— _**Indeed.**_

— So get out !

— _**I was talking about you.**_

Confident in his superhuman abilities, Rook charged ! He was so fast that his body seemed to blur! At this speed, nothing could stop him !

.

The Man in Black took a step forward.

The concrete under his foot fractured and he disappeared under the amazed gaze of James and the STRQ team !

Rook did not realize immediately. The individual who faced him had just disappeared...?

Even before his brain could process the information, a hand grabbed Rook's face and pushed him back ! Cut in full swing, his skull hit the ground and he lost consciousness without even understanding what had happened to him.

* * *

For the last spectators on the spot, the scene was without comment: the Man in Black was simply _faster_ and _stronger_. He was better in every way...

The Faunus definitely out of action, he turned to his next target. All that remained between him and Sélénée was the Atlas officer and the Huntsmen.

His last asset lost, James felt growing in him a sense of helplessness growing ! He had the deep conviction that whatever he opposes, he would not stop this man and yet...

— Let him pass," murmured Summer." He's just here for her.

— I know. But I can not let her go.

James Ironwood was an accomplished Huntman and a commander of the Atlas Army ! He knew what the world could risk if he failed... He would not retreat, even in front of the impossible !

He pulled his revolver out of his holster and raised it to the Man in Black, his finger on the trigger.

He never had time to fire...

* * *

 **PS**

Hi there ! A modification was made to the chapters "Intro 4" and "Chapter 3 - The Call", I deepened the gloom of the first and change in the latter the person who collected the Woman in White, because with Taiyang... It was too illogical...

Then a big Thank You to AnImE264LoVeR and JcL107 for adding my story to their list ! Thank you very much !

Finally (because I know you find that it gets long ;), I would also like to thank merendinoemiliano for his advice and encouragement, there is nothing more pleasant than knowing that my creations interest people !

Good reading at all of you ! :)


	21. Chapter 17 - Speaking of the Devil

**CHAPTER 17**

 _ **Speaking of the Devil...**_

* * *

Tic

Tac

With a regular pace, Ozpin tapped his cane. He had not said a word since he boarded the Bullhead, leading a fleet of aircrafts to Mountain Glenn. He had no prayer for the Gods, so he simply hoped that Summer and Team STRQ would be safe and sound.

— Mountain Glenn in visual, Headmaster," warns the pilot. I see the wreck of an Atlesian airship down there. It's probably the _Conviction_.

He turned his head towards the porthole and silently watched the state of the colony, once flourishing, becomes a field of ruins. Around the city where trees and hills stood, there was nothing left.

— It looks like the result of a huge bomb," whispered Glydia, his young assistant.

She was not wrong...

This land had become a lunar landscape.

There was no relief, no vegetation or buildings intact. Everything was ravaged. This devastation was likely to last several years before nature took over her rights here...

But in this destruction, Ozpin read there the signature of a dangerous being. Whatever was here before force _him_ to use his most powerful attack. What kind of Creature of Grimm could force him to do so ? Was it something else ? Something worse ?

Yes... Make sure nothing happened to Summer... She was too precious for the future of the world.

— Land near the station. We must not hang around here too long.

The pilot obeyed and the other aircrafts imitated him.

* * *

On leaving the Bullhead, they were greeted by a cheering crowd of survivors, too happy to finally leave this place!

— Glydia, I'll let you take care of them. Organize the evacuation with the Huntsmen.

— And you ?

— Do not worry about me.

Ozpin made his way through the crowd. He noted soldiers from Atlas and those of the colony working together to facilitate the work of the Huntsmen. In other circumstances, he would have smiled in front of this scene, touched to see his words of mutual help come to fruition. But not now…

Where to start the research ? Who to ask in this heap of tight bodies ?

Ozpin closed his mind to all the sound and visual pests that blurred his search. His senses searched among the Auras of every being, in search of his four pupils. He recognized the Semblance of one of them. He opened his eyes again and walked over to a blond man who was turning his back on him, too busy helping an elderly person. No mistake, it was...

— Taiyang.

— Headmaster ?

The Huntsman was surprised at the presence of the Academy leader in these places.

— Taiyang, are you all rightv?

— Some burns but nothing serious.

— Good. Can you tell me what happened here?

His pupil seemed to be embarrassed by this question.

— Not here," he whispered." Follow me.

Taiyang led him to the underground station where the wounded were gathered. The entrance seemed to have been condemned with explosive then... Ozpin put a hand on the rock that had exploded and then carved by claws as hard as diamond…

Now that the vast majority of the refugees were outside, the lower city was silent as in a church. Military nurses and civilian doctors, livid with exhaustion, did their best to keep the wounded out of the clutches of death. Taiyang told him that no wounded person had succumbed to his injuries. It was a real miracle...

— That's Summer.

The Headmaster was not surprised to see the young woman helping to care for the wounded and to relieve the doctors as best she could, it was in her nature to help people in need.

Like Taiyang, the Huntress was surprised to see Ozpin here but also relieved of his presence. If he was there, it meant that help had arrived.

— There... There are serious wounded... They need specialized transport...

Ozpin did not need to probe her Aura to see how exhausted she was. Moreover, she had lost her lenses, revealing to all her Silver Eyes.

He put his reassuring hands on her shoulders and urged her to sit on a chair. It was only then that Ozpin noticed bruises on Summer's delicate neck. Who dared to do such a thing to her ?

— We'll take care of them, Summer. Rest... it's over. Can you tell me what happened to Mountain Glenn ? It's the safest colony of all Vale.

— It was,' Raven corrected herself behind his back.

The Branwen were there, discreetly retaking human form behind Taiyang.

— So ?" Summer asked, despite the fatigue that was now overwhelming her.

— Nothing at all," Qrow growled, taking out his liquor from his jacket.

— Mountain Glenn HQ was sprayed with half of the colony. There is nothing left of it," explained his sister.

— What were you looking for there ?" asked Ozpin.

— Basically, the "trusted person" you told us to meet once arrived here was part of the bastards who dropped the Grimms in town !

Ozpin did not believe his ears ! Scharnhorst !? Why this madness ?!

— And you don't know everything yet," Qrow said to the Headmaster.

The Huntsman from the Tribe invited him to enter a medical tent set apart from the wounded.

Ozpin followed them inside and stopped at the entrance, stunned.

Hood was there, watching with two soldiers with James Ironwood ?! Approaching the captain, he discovered that he was missing his right arm! He squatted next to him and examined the wound.

The cut was straight, probably due to a sword... But the most incredible was that the flesh was already healed! Without that, he would have been dead for a long time !

Who did that? He knew too many enemies followers of blades to recognize the culprit, but he knew who had saved the officer from Atlas. This feat was the work of Raptoria or Lux...

— Tell me everything. Don't omit any details.

* * *

Summer saw Commander Ironwood point the barrel of his revolver at the Man in Black and squeeze the trigger. She saw the gunlock hit the cylinder and...

Nothing.

No high-calibre bullet from Dust hit the Elder of the Four. Defective shot !

James blinked for a moment before realizing what had just happened ! He squeezed the trigger again, activating the cylinder that hit the room with a new ball. The gunlock struck and...

Always nothing.

He had six shots in his revolver. He squeezed the trigger four more times. Four more times his weapon refused to fire.

And during this time, the Man in Black walked quietly towards him.

It was terrifying to see : the soldier unable to open fire and his foe advancing fatefully toward him. There seemed to be something destined for what was about to happen ! An immutable fact that no one could stop except maybe the Gods !

James threw his useless balls on the ground and lodged others in the barrel. One, two, three... Six ! He armed the...

The Man in Black was on him.

.

 _Time slowed down around Summer._

The Elder of the Four put his hand to the hilt of his katana and delivered the power of his weapon in a red flash !

The cut was sharp, cutting into the flesh and bones of the right shoulder to the hip.

He had already sheathed that James still had not realized.

 _Time resumed..._

A high-pitched screaming echoed throughout the station !

James Ironwood fell to the ground, his left hand held his flank completely open from the bottom up ! It was a nightmare ! The blood flowed from his wound like a tap ! His arm rolled to the ground, his fingers still tight around the butt of the revolver. This detail made Summer feel nauseous !

With hindsight, Summer realized that she was the only one to have witnessed the scene. What the others had seen was only a red blur, like a flash too bright to be really perceived by the human eye.

The Man in Black walked past the man now condemned to die...

Something seized his ankle. He lowered his head and saw the officer on the ground, his left hand hanging on his leg. James Ironwood refused to let him go with Sélénée even though he could not afford to oppose him !

But already, the Man in Black raised his sword, determined to end this nuisance.

— NOOO !

At Summer's cry, Qrow and Raven jumped behind the Man in Black. The brother was ready to behead him with his scythe, his sister had the blade of his katana pointed at his heart. Taiyang bravely faced him, his right fist in front of his throat, ready to crush his larynx at the slightest suspicious gesture.

Yet it was not the threat of three Huntsmen who stopped the arm of the Man in Black but rather the cry of Summer.

The destroyer of Mountain Glenn turned to the Huntress who was watching him in horror, terrified by what he had almost done !

— I beg you ! Let him live !

He obeyed, kicking James's hand and sheathing his sword.

Cautiously, Tai pushed James away from the Eldest of the Four, leaving behind a sinister trail of blood. They knew they had no way to save him !

Qrow and Raven kept their weapons pointed at the Man in Black who was staring at Summer, ready to defend her if necessary. But the Man in Black royally ignored thel. All his attention was on the Silver-Eyed Huntress.

His reptilian red eyes stared her as if her mere existence was an insult ! In front of that look, Summer could only feel fear. In those monster eyes, there was not the surprise of the other Four. Only anger. Hate. Why ? Why this wrath against her ?

She could not have known that her existence had awakened in him something profoundly extinct that the world had thought dead for twenty years already. A thud resounded in the skull of the Man in Black. A low, distant roar, which was deafening by the silence that preceded it.

This roar, Tai, Qrow and Raven were the first to feel it in their flesh. An unpleasant vibration that resonated even in their bones.

Drops of sweat beaded on the Huntsmen's forehead, but only Raven knew what to expect. What jolted from Man in Black was only the beginning of an imminent disaster! She wanted to act before it was too late but her body refused to obey her.

Taiyang, her brother and herself were paralyzed !

Only her eyes could still move, and she read the same stupor in the eyes of her comrades !

The Man in Black stepped a step towards Summer, a single step, barely audible and yet, he expelled the air of all as the Aura he released was powerful ! Stifling !

— _**What. Is. Your. Name. Silver-Eyed ?**_

Summer shudders in front of this dead voice, without emotion or heat...

— I... I'm Summer Rose, from the Beacon Academy...

An intimidating breath came out of the legendary fighter's throat.

— _**"Summer Rose... So kindly I scatter..."**_ he recited mysteriously.

He took a second step towards her and Black Mist disengaged from his body, following him like a faithful lackey, ravaging everything that came into contact with it. In silence, he walked to the Silver-eyed Huntress. Each of his steps seemed to increase the discomfort of humans. He stopped in front of Summer, dominating her by his size and anger. Black Mist threatened to engulf her at any moment !

— Summer !... Get away... from him... !" Qrow warns between his tight jaws.

Paralyzed by the power he gave off, Summer was unable to organize her thoughts. She discovered too late the monster that had evoked the Branwen ! She had been wrong not to believe them ! She felt him probing her soul through his reptilian eyes to whom nothing could be hidden.

Iron fingers closed on her throat and without difficulty, lifted her off the ground ! She opened her mouth but no sound came out ! Her legs was struggling in the void but she could not defend herself !

— SUMMER ! yelled his friends without being able to help him.

As she choked, the dead voice of the Man in Black was heard again.

— _**I feel the mark of the Guardian all around you...**_

He strengthened his iron grip and Summer could only look at him, her eyes bathed in tears. Her body screamed to her to fight to stay alive, but her mind was unable to make any decisions. She was going to die here, from the very hand of the one they were looking for…

— _**Pitiful... For twenty years, we thought to be the last defense against Salem... And now this coward sends us an illusory hope ? He forced us to fight a useless battle, all for what in the end ? A Silver-Eyed Maiden who knows nothing of her strength !**_

Summer's vision began to get confused. It was getting darker around her. The face of the Man in Black mingled with the blackness of the Black Mist, and soon, even the arm that strangled her disappeared.

She was bathed in nothingness. It was the end...

.

— Stop it immediately.

.

The grip of the Man in Black relaxed a little, allowing Summer to swallow greedily the air that claimed her lungs ! The Black Mist that threatened to destroy her rejoined the body of its owner.

Behind him, Summer recognized a dazzling silhouette at the entrance of the station, bathed in the emerging daylight. A silhouette concealed under an immaculate hood... The Woman in White !

— _**Do not come between me and my prey, Similar...**_ , he growled at her attention.

— Release. Her," she ordered more severely to the Man in Black.

He ignored the threat in her voice and shifted his gaze to Sélénée behind the Huntress. She was still unconscious, drained of her strength. In his state, he had no choice but to entrust her to Beacon, it was the only place where she could safely recover... With the destruction of the Atlesian chain of command, the survivors of the ship will prefer to leave her to the care of the Guardian.

After a long minute of reflection, the Man in Black finally released Summer.

The Huntress collapsed on the floor, her hands around her bluish neck. The tension that held prisoner Taiyang and the others faded, allowing them to rush to Summer. Qrow was the first to join her and was relieved to see her more or less unscathed...

.

— _**So... There's one left alive...**_

Summer blinked, surprised to hear a sparkle of life in that voice where there was only death. The red eyes, so inhuman, of the Man in Black were replaced by two black pupils, more human-like, but just as empty of life.

With this incredible metamorphosis, Summer discovered a completely different man : he was the same, but so different ! His complexion was dangerously pale and he had deep dark circles under his eyes ! He had nothing of the monster he was the moment before !

— _**How long has the Guardian been hiding you from the eyes of the world ?**_

— The Guardian ?

She did not know anything. No wonder from the Fallen Gods...

Raptoria and he felt in them the strength of the _signal_ intensify.

They could not stay longer here. The Grimms would soon come back, attracted by three of the Four in the same place. His dead eyes turned to Raptoria who nodded in response to his silent question.

— _**One week…**_

The Man in Black came out of the underground city, leaving the Woman in White alone with the Huntsmen. Without a word, she walked to James Ironwood. The captain had already lost consciousness with the excessive blood loss. His life was hanging by a thread.

She put both hands on her sliced side and a light dazzled the Huntsmen.

When it went out, the flesh began to heal, saving the officer from certain death. For the other unconscious soldiers, she held out a hand to them and one by one, all woke up. The only other wounded she examined was the Faunus. She closed her eyes, her fists clenched...

She got up and spoke to Summer.

— I cannot do more for them... They will live. That's all I can promise.

— Thank you very much," said Summer, bowing to thank her.

What she imitated in return.

— It's all natural. The Maiden and the Silver Warriors have always helped us in the past, I had to help you in return.

Summer raised an eyebrow. She finally had the opportunity to ask the questions that burned her lips :

— Sorry but what are my eyes so special ? And why do you call me "Maiden" ?

The Woman in White seemed surprised at her question.

— You do not know ?

— No... Should I ?

— If you're in Beacon, Ozpin should have...

A wave muffled by miles and obstacles came to her ears. She nevertheless recognized the noise of the Bullheads' engines...

— Speaking of the Devil...

She sighed, aware that it was time.

— I have to go.

— No ! Wait ! I still have other questions... !

The Woman in White silenced her and put a finger on the rose hanging on Summer's cape.

— As long as you keep this flower, our paths will cross again. Sooner than you expect...

* * *

Summer finished her story.

Ozpin had not stopped her once while she spoke. He had not asked for precision or for repetition. His usual calm gaze was profoundly serious.

— And the Woman in White ?

— She disappeared, like the Man in Black.

Raven had enough ! Pulling away from her brother, she walked to the Headmaster, furious !

— You knew it ! You knew what was going to happen !

Ozpin does not say anything.

— You knew we would not be strong enough to face the Four ! Nor in face of their enemies ! You knew that and you still sent us to fight without telling us anything ! You put our lives in danger ! Why ?

Ozpin frowned and grabbed Raven's arm to invite her to continue this discussion out of some indiscreet ears. All Team STRQ went out with him.

— I'm sorry about what happened to you, Team STRQ. But I can swear to you that I had no intention of sending you to a war zone. I never thought the Four could attack you.

Raven pushed his hand away from the tent.

— How could we still believe you ? It was you who told us that the Four appeared where the Grimms were going to attack ! Their enemies had only to wait for them here !

— Except these enemies were not supposed to be here," the Headmaster explained calmly.

— Why, then ?

— Simply because Mountain Glenn was not supposed to be attacked.

— What ?" Taiyang wondered." Wait, I'm not sure I heard correctly... You say that the Four should never have been here at the beginning ?

— Correct.

— But how did you know they would be here ?" Qrow asked...

...Before realizing what he means !

— No... Don't tell me that...

— Yes. It's me who drew the Four to Mountain Glenn," Ozpin revealed.

Qrow blinked several times after his statement.

— How...?

— The Four have a kind of sixth sense, like a radar. An ability that tells them where to go fight the Grimms. After years of unsuccessful attempts, I ended up finding a way to access it and designate them a wrong destination.

— That's why you sent us here," Taiyang said.

— Headmaster," said Summer, silent until now." If Mountain Glenn was a subterfuge... Why were the Grimms here...? And these people...?

— These are their old enemies. I guess my manipulation was discovered and turned against them. As for the Grimms, there has always been in the vicinity of the colony. When the doors opened, they mingled with the chaos. It was probably the goal of the enemies of the Four.

— Headmaster... Do you realize that Mountain Glenn fell because of your decision ? People died !

Summer's accusation was legitimate, Ozpin understood her very well. His choice led the Grimms and the Champions of Salem to reduce the colony to nothing. With the help of the Man in Black...

— Mountain Glen _was going_ to fall. Whatever happens. With Scharnhorst at the head of the security, it could not be otherwise. Your intervention has at least saved the habitants of the colony. Do you think it would have been the same without you ? Without the Four ?

Summer bit her lip. She understood Ozpin's reasoning perfectly, but he only noted her words, not her indignation. The Headmaster, still so concerned about human life... Why was he so different today ?

— So ? What's next ?" Taiyang asked.

— We evacuate the colony. The Woman in Black and Commander Ironwood will be taken to Beacon for hospitalization. I don't think Hood will have a problem with that.

He left the group and got ready to enter the medical tent when he stopped to turn to his students.

— When we go back to Beacon, I'll have a lot to reveal to you.

He entered and left them between them.

* * *

As Ozpin had guessed – and the Man in Black – Hood accepted the Headmaster's proposal and was ordered to abandon Mountain Glenn. What seemed unacceptable to some, the surviving lieutenant was part of them. Ozpin was trying to reason with them.

— The doors of the colony are broken down, the headquarters is nothing more than a pile of dust. The Grimms will enter as they want here.

— Maybe, but they have nothing able to pierce the compressed rock.

— You want to take refuge in the lower city ?

— Not take refuge there : take back our life where we were robbed. It will be enough to blow some rocks to fill the tunnel that the Woman in Black has drilled us. We all stayed in the underground train station when the city was under construction. We know what to expect. We will always have daylight thanks to the mirrors and we have electricity and drinking water. From now on, we will live underground, until the day we can take back our city. Tell that to the Leaders of the Council : Mountain Glenn has not fallen. That's what Scharnhorst would have wanted...

The Headmaster nodded. The lieutenant did not need to know the truth for now. When Ozpin reveals it to the Council, their suffering will be silenced. At least, he hoped...

He held out his hand. He felt some discomfort to omit the truth to this hopeful man...

— I wish you the best, Lieutenant...

But that was the pure truth.

The soldier shook his hand. A strong grip. Full of hope for their future.

— Lieutenant Gneisenau. Good luck to you with the Four.

* * *

Thus the story of Mountain Glenn reached a historic turning point. As the volunteers retrieved their last belongings to reach the station, the resigned survivors boarded the Bullheads. There was no overflow, no screaming or crying in the queue. All boarded the aircraft with dignity and calm.

Two Atlas soldiers were loading Séléné aboard the Hunstmen aircraft.

— Excuse me but you still have room ? Survivors found a seriously injured under the rubble. His vital prognosis is engaged...

They probably did not want to burden the young Huntsmen even more with the sight of a dying man before their eyes. Touching intention.

— Put him with us. Join your aircraft, your commander and your captain are waiting for you.

— Understood. Do not worry about him, he deliriums a little with the drugs...

The two soldiers put the wounded man next to Summer. he was in a bad state... His body was covered with bandages even though she could see the burned flesh through some place... She had heard that if the body was burned more than 50 percent, death was...

— Take off," Ozpin told the pilot.

The Bullhead left the vitrified soil and flew away, followed by the others. The vibrations of the device awakened the wounded man who lifted an arm severely burned up, mumbling some incomprehensible words...

— Se... S-S-Sa... Sé...

Despite the condition of his hand, Summer grabs his to comfort him. He had a glove in his hand, practically intact compared to his owner. A mittens, cordouan color.

— Everything is fine. You are safe now.

Too dazed by the drugs, the wounded man said nothing else and his hand fell down his body.

Summer pulled away from him and turned to the Headmaster, both hands resting on his cane, staring at the woman in black lying next to him. She remembered the name the Four used to name him.

— Headmaster... Why do the Four call you the Guardian ?


	22. Chapter 18 - Rest and Questions

**CHAPTER 18**

 _ **Rest and Questions**_

* * *

A dark vault, a dead wooden chandelier from which purple crystals hung, finely decorated stained glass windows overlooking the domain of their Mistress.

Hazel had known this piece for several years, but he could not help but tremble every time he entered it. The air was... thicker... colder too. As if he were entering the kingdom of the dead... Thinking about it, the border between these two places was fine.

He was coughing and spitting blood in his robotic palm. Salem's powers had saved him, but he was far from cured. The whole plan had failed, and the destruction of Mountain Glenn was only a small consolation for _her_...

Using a handkerchief, Nova nervously cleaned his aviator's glasses. It was the first time he had been invited to the Mistress of the Grimms' palace and sitting in an armchair, hands on a table, gave him the illusion of being in an interrogation room...

The heavy wooden doors opened, giving way to the darkest of Goddesses.

Her skin was pale as the moon, her arms and the outline of her eyes covered with purple veins, her hair as white as ash was gathered in a bun with six offshoots from which ornaments were suspended, tinkling at each of her movements.

No footstep disturbed the silence she seemed to enjoy.

She walked to the altar behind her crystal throne. Candles were burning forever. For as long as he had come here, Hazel had always seen them immutable, never the wax flowed, the flames never flickered. Everything in this room gave the impression of a moment frozen in time.

Nova and Hazel had got up as soon as she arrived, and despite the pain that was choking him, he waited like his companion for the Goddess to let them sit down. What she did with a wave of her hand, her gaze still turned towards the candles.

— The fall of Mountain Glenn cost me a lot…

She finally turned her dark eyes towards them. His irises shone with an agonizing red glow.

— Two of my back Champions return agonising from the battle, another has lost his mind and a fourth his life... and dear Watts is missing.

Nova held his breath. She only needed a thought and all the Grimms in the palace would reduce them to shreds !

— We regret to have disappointed you, madam, » excused Hazel. » The Four were stronger than we thought...

She said nothing, left her altar to take her place on her throne.

— Nevertheless, not everything must be to throw away. Hazel... How do you feel after seeing your old Master ?

The warrior sought in his memory the slightest event worthy of mention to his Goddess.

— He was exactly as you had thought. Formerly, he would have killed me with one blow but during the fight, he was forced to prolong the fight to defeat me...

— He still found Energy to use his most destructive attack. This is a warning to my attention... I almost feel he is trying to talk to me through his actions...

She smiled as she closed her eyes, but her smile did not show any empathy.

— Ozpin succeeded where I thought I'd finished twenty years ago. According to my Shadows, one of her Huntress would be a Silver-Eyed Warrior.

Moment of silence in the room.

Hazel's metal fingers squeezed as tight as their pistons allowed. Nova stared at him without understanding. He was not there when the story of the Silver Eyed Warriors had ended in a bloody and definitive way... But Hazel knew !

The warrior had learned of the massacre on the day he had betrayed his master and lost both arms in return. He knew everything about the massacre, hundreds of men, women and children exterminated and devoured by the Grimms because of a traitor in the ranks of the Siler-Eyed...

The stories of his master and the pictures he had discovered later haunted him sometimes at night when it was not his sister...

Salem's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

— Hazel. You will stay here the time to finish your healing.

— As you wish.

— Nova. I'm sending you to Vale. This dear Ozpin surely realized that we exploited his discovery of the _signal_. Two of the Four are there. Watch them but stay quiet.

— Alright.

— You can dispose.

Her Champions obeyed and left the room.

The doors closed behind them, leaving her alone with her throne and altar. She went to a stained glass window and looked down at the red surface of her world. Where its pools of darkness vomited new Grimms, still feeding her army in strength.

— This world will fall soon. And we will all be together again. Yes… Very soon…

* * *

Arthur Watts opened his eyes and grasped with one hand the syringe that was going to be implanted in his arm. The doctor who was about to inject him with the product hesitated to continue.

— What's inside? » Watts asked.

— Huh... A-Adrenaline and some selected proteins... It's for...

— ...give the body a boost, I know. I am a doctor.

 _I was..._

He rejected the blanket and sat down on his bed. He looked around. It was a hospital room.

— Where am I ?

— Vale. In safe place.

Vale ? What was he doing in the heart of this kingdom ? The last thing he remembered was Sélénée and the attack of...

— How did I get here ?

— The Headmaster of the Beacon Academy sent a fleet of aircrafts to collect the survivors of Mountain Glenn. We found you under rubble. You have been lucky. On the other hand, wouldn't you be a Huntsman by any chance ? Your regenerative abilities are breathtaking ! Yesterday you were still burned to the third degree on half of the body. It's your Semblance ?

Watts did not answer.

He had to leave here before Ozpin or his stooges realized he was here... One of Ozpin's Huntsmen had seen him. He had to leave the hospital without attracting attention. In any case, not in this ridiculous shirt of hospitalized.

He slowly turned to the doctor and an idea quickly took root in him...

— No. Here is **my** Semblance...

Heat accumulated in the palm of his hand...

.

Arthur Watts came out of the room, disguised as a real doctor with his blouse and notebook in the hollow of the arm.

 _Just like old times !_

He ventured into the corridors of the hospital. Nobody paid attention to him. Perfect. The doctors who might have wondered who this newcomer was were too busy looking at each Mountain Glenn wounded to pay attention to him and if they ever entered the room where he was supposed to be bedridden, they would see only a bunch of ashes at the foot of his empty bed...

He stopped abruptly.

What about Sélénée ?

She had sacrificed herself so they both undergo her brother's attack. In her condition, she could not have escaped unscathed...

He entered a room where an old man was sleeping and began to think. If he had suffered from the attack, she too ! Wich meant Ozpin must have sheltered her in his academy. It was impossible to go in alone and recover her. But perhaps he could access information about her ? The doctors probably had to ask to examine her to make sure of her state before returning her to the Headmaster...

These cretins with a narrow mind could not realize what perfection of nature they had in front. Perfection... a second name for his Sélénée. She was the result of an evolutionary selection that had given her that face and angelic figure, the treasure that any doctor worthy of the name should marvel at the sight of her body only shaped by the best genes.

He took out of his pocket his Scroll that his kind physician had put aside ... He hacked the servers of the hospital as easily as if he entered a store. Ozpin probably must have classified her file and refused to reveal her true name but by looking among the women who sported the same distinctive signs that her, he could perhaps find her...

— Find you, my beauty…

It was her, no mistake. Arthur began to devour the photographs taken by the doctors, ignoring their notes. Sélénée was covered with wounds all more serious than each other. Her skin so perfect that no artifice needed to embellish was purplish in several parts of the body. Her delicate ankle was so horribly bruised... Her shoulder and neck bore the marks of burns from his brother's attack. Her right collarbone was raw and swollen and her back was deformed by fractures. Her slender left arm was also covered with burns and scratches. She was missing two fingers in her hand and her right arm was gone... She who had such soft hands...

Yet she remained beautiful. The hunt she had undergone had conditioned her body to uninterrupted physical exercise. Sélénée had a slender, muscular body, like when he had known her before...

He quickly peeled the data. Radio, blood pressure, heart rate... Heart rate ? The numbers he was reading did not match her blood pressure. It was as if she...

At the bottom of the file, a doctor added a note.

.

The hand holding the Scroll shook. But this tremor was not the result of an accumulation of heat. It was the result of a mixture of emotions that he thought he had sealed twenty years ago...

His throat was tied and his lips parted.

What he was reading was not possible...

— Oh, Sélénée… what did you hide from me ?

* * *

Sélénée woke up too.

Her body was a concentrate of pain and each movement amplified this feeling, even breathing was unbearable... She used her senses to discover her environment. No smell except that of her own blood. No sound except the beating of her heart. From touch, she guessed she was in a mattress on the floor, according to the feeling of discomfort in her back, or maybe it was her fractured vertebras...

She slowly turned her head and looked at her surroundings...

Everything was... dark... No windows... green flames dimly lit up the pillars that rose to a ceiling too high for her to see in the dark.

She did not need more to recognize the Reliquary of Creation...

— You are awake. Perfect.

She recognized the detestable sound of a cane on the tiles, on which the flames reflected a greenish color.

Walking quietly towards her, Ozpin !

— You...

She wanted to get up, invoke her scythe and decapitate this junk ! But her body remained motionless and trembling.

— You have innumerable internal fractures and haemorrhages. And your right arm is still missing," he said, stopping next to her.

She glared at him instead of being able to kill him.

— And I have to thank you for it...

Her voice was supposed to be cold and powerful, but she could only speak with a barely audible breath.

— What happened is my fault," he admitted." Salem returned my discovery against us...

— "Us ?"... Between you and us... There is no "us..." You nearly sent us to death... And by your fault, our sentence was probably prolonged for not having obeyed the _true signal_...

She closed her eyes and turned her head in front of her.

— You're really... the worst...

— I'm not Arthur Watts.

She opened her eyes and they took on a red color !

— _**Do not mention his name in my presence !**_ " she growled with her meager strength.

But her anger alone could not fuel the fire in her eyes that went out quickly, too exhausting in her condition.

— Should I also avoid evoking this secret that you have kept for 20 years ?

She shudders. A feeling of fear and helplessness seized her, and she missed her breath. She turned to him again.

— What the hell...?

— No need to deny it, Sélénée. I know it.

She swallowed hard. In her normal state, she would have found a thousand ways to prevent him from revealing this secret. If Salem knew it, she would be more persecuted than Raptoria or her brother ! The goddess of the Grimms would stop at nothing to capture her !

— What do you want ?" she sighed, realizing that he had all the cards on his side.

— Help me put an end to Salem's actions.

He would have asked her to kill her brothers or sister that she would have had the same reaction: she burst out laughing, but grimaced in pain because of her fractured ribs.

She spat a little blood and Ozpin had the decency to wipe her lips.

— Salem... must live...

— ...as long as I live. Yes I know. This is the first Rule of the Four. But I'm not asking you to fight her. I want you to form Huntsmen capable of defeating her.

— You mean the Silver-Eyed, right ?

He did not deny it and it irritated her.

— You forgot... what happened twenty years ago ? You want to send the last of her people to death ?

— You know as well as I do the prophecy concerning them.

— To hell with the prophecies ! I will not let the last Silver-Eyed warrior die for you !

Her outburst caused her a fifth of bloody coughing.

— I… ***cough*** I… ***cough*cough***

She felt weirdly weak. A veil obscured her field of vision, plunging her a little deeper into darkness.

— You are in critical condition. Your body can not handle your wounds; you need to recharge yourself in Energy. This place is the only one in Vale where you can rest safely.

— So what ?...

— Let's make a Pact.

The Second Law... For the Four, a Pact was not just a promise to make lightly. It was an oath that they could not go back once accepted. It could force them to sacrifice a lot to keep their word. Their lives, their values, the authority of the Laws. All these considerations became secondary, with all the consequences that implied...

— Go in hell…

She turned aside in her mattress and turned her back to him. She restrained herself from screaming with her broken back, but she still preferred to suffer rather than keep talking to him.

Ozpin totally ignored the insult and sat on the floor next to her. By pulling the trigger of his cane, it folded and he could put it in a pocket of his jacket without it hindering him.

— Train one of my students and in exchange, you will be housed and treated here.

— Only ... One ?" Sélénée repeated suspiciously.

— Only one. That's all I ask you.

Ozpin was not a manipulator. He would not ask for vicious or incapacitating clauses, she knew. He wanted to make an honest pact. But she was not naive either.

— You sent four kids at Mountain Glenn. And I'm here now. My brother should arrive soon to recover me and I bet you that Raptoria is not far away from the Silver-Eyed... You wish that each of us trains one of your little protégés, is that it ?

— Yes.

— You really want to take her down...

— I would have done it a long time ago if you had not stopped me that day.

She did not answer. A silence settled between them. What the Four had done in the past was debatable. They had chosen to impose neutrality where a choice should have been made and the world had suffered from their decision.

— Three years," she said.

He nodded, uncertain as to what he had just heard.

— Three years. To form one of them.

— Thanks," said Ozpin with relief.

— Don't thank me ... With us as masters, they have every chance to die... You know it.

Ozpin did not have to answer. Of course he knew. But they also knew that he alone could no longer teach young Huntsmen how to go beyond their limits.

Darkness was gaining Sélénée. A pleasant torpor invaded her body and she did not know if she would wake up again in this life.

— Your turn, now...

He nodded and lifted it as gently as possible. It was only then that she discovered that apart from her bandages, she was naked.

— Pervert...

— Coming from you... You were naked too, the day the Four appeared for the first time on this world.

— It was ... the good old days ... It was the reign of the Six...

Ozpin sighed, his mind elsewhere, walking through the arches of the underground building. The green flames created shadows that danced on the Headmaster's face.

— I will have given everything to return to that time... And prevent all these misfortunes from happening.

— Like us…

...

A feeling of moisture covered Sélénée's body as Ozpin carried her through the endless arches. She turned her head and found a basin filled with emerald green water with blue sapphire reflections. It was the first time she had seen what looked like a hot spring, but a part of her seemed to be plunged back into childhood...Cursively, she clung to Ozpin's jacket. Her body was shaking but it was not out of fear.

— What is it, Ozpin ?

— You do not keep any memory but your body does, isn't it ? This is where you were born, Raptoria, Lux, your brother and you. It's an anchor point between this world and the Flux from where you come from. And it is also the Relic of your sister.

— Home Sweet Home... she let out a humorless tone.

He crouched and slid Sélénée into the pool. She let herself be swallowed by the waves, closing her eyes.

As soon as Selene came into contact with the emerald-sapphire water, it turned into a red color far from that of the ruby. Ozpin stepped away as the pool of blood began to glow, and a mysterious, purple current swirled around Sélénée's body, which he could see beneath the bloody surface.

The process started and he had nothing to do here. He turned around and headed for the elevator.

* * *

Team STRQ was waiting in the Headmaster's special office. The cogs moving endlessly, all in a certain order that seemed to give a goal to the slightest mechanism, gave Summer an impression of eternity in motion.

 _The very definition of Time_ , Ozpin would have said if he had read her thoughts at that time...

It had been only three days since they had returned to the Academy. Summer had the impression that it had been years since they had come back here when they had not been there even two weeks ago... So much had happened... They had found the Four, or rather the Four had found them and they had saved the inhabitants of Mountain Glenn, a success that the four Huntsmen should have accomplished. It was difficult for them to admit that the praise they were making of them as the best Huntsmen of this generation was unfounded. They were far from having the capabilities to be the best...

The Four... Their enemies and the humanoid Grimms... The Silver-Eyed... The Guardian... All these mysteries were going to be revealed to them today, or so they hoped.

— There he is," Raven said.

The doors of the elevator opened to let Ozpin out, who took a few steps in his office. Team STRQ was there in full force. Taiyang was lying on the ground with his hands behind his head to act as a pillow; Qrow crouches against one of the columns near the entrance, a bottle of alcohol in his hand; Raven leaning against the same column as her brother; Summer was sitting on one of the chairs in front of the office, waiting patiently for him to come and sit in front.

— Thank you for coming," he said as he sat down in his chair.

His pupils got closer and he could start.

— Summer, you asked me in the aircraft why the Four called me the Guardian? I think it's time to explain to you what binds me to them...

He used the coffee maker to fill his cup.

— Do you know how much deity people have created ?

The Hunstmen looked at each other without knowing exactly where the discussion was going.

— Uh... Eight ? Maybe ten ?" Taiyang said.

— In fact, there would be a dozen. But in fact, two of them are actually real.

— Do you think you're funny ?" Raven growled, thinking that the Headmaster was mocking them.

— If only it was a joke, Raven... I already told you this story, Summer, do you remember ?

She nodded and he went back to his story :

— A long time ago, even before this world existed, there were two brothers. The Elder, the God of Light, who created life on Remnant, and the Benjamin, who created death. Together, they fashioned a unique life form, capable of creating as well as destroying and deciding which way to choose for itself...

— Humans and Faunus," Taiyang understood.

— Exactly. To watch over Humanity, the Gods created two entities, the first to protect sentient beings in this world, and the second to make sure they die to maintain a balance. But there was a problem : the Humanity of the two divine brothers was unable to do anything. They were at the mercy of everything, without a guide and without a marker in a cruel world.

— Of course, without knowledge, we are nothing," Raven admitted.

— It's deep, Sis," smiled Qrow.

— Shut up…

— Then the gods created one last time together four gifts for their magnificent creation...

— I know !" exclaimed Summer." Knowledge, Creation, Destruction and Choice ! And this is how Humanity came to be.

— Ok so what's the meaning behind the metaphor ?" Raven grew impatient." We are here for answers, not for trying to understand what these so-called four gifts...

She does not finish her phrase; she frowned as she placed a hand in front of her mouth.

— You realized, don't you ?," asked Ozpin, reading the perplexity in his pupil's eyes.

The other three looked at each other without understanding.

— I don't understand, Headmaster... It's not just a story ?" Summer asked innocently.

— That's where the story ends and the reality begins, Summer. You see, these four gifts are not just metaphors for the human condition. Each of them exists in two physical forms in this world. These material representations of our souls are called Relics.

— And the other form?

— They are called the Four.


	23. Chapter 19- The Guardian

**CHAPTER 19**

 _ **The Guardian**_

* * *

— The Four are ... the living forms of the Gifts of the Gods ?

Ozpin nodded gravely.

— The Woman in White, whose real name is Raptoria, is the incarnation of Creation, the Man in White, Lux, is that of Knowledge, the Woman in Black, Sélénée, represents the Choice and the Man in Black is Destruction, as you've seen in Mountain Glenn...

Ozpin let them assimilate the information. He had known for a long time that this kind of secret was hard to swallow.

— Headmaster ?" said Summer." How do you know that ? I mean, I don't put your words in doubt but...

Ozpin closed his eyes.

The time had come to reveal his terrible secrets... It was always the same fear that seized him when he had to confess the whole truth. Many of those he had met had panicked and fled him like if he was a plague victim or a monster... But he had promised to tell them everything and they had the right to know after the hell they had lived through...

— Before to tell you, I want you to know this : I hate lies. But some topics have to be quiet and that's why I'm asking you to make a choice.

— A choice ?" repeated Qrow, raising an eyebrow.

— After what I am going to tell you, you will never see the world again as before. It will surely seem terrifying and inescapable. There will be no turning back possible.

His pupils nodded, understanding his words very well.

— You look serious...

— That's because I am, Mr. Xia Long. What I am going to tell you could spread terror around the world. It's not something easy to bear, believe me. If you wish to leave, no one will blame you for that. There is no shame in abstaining oneself from certain knowledge like this one.

The STRQ team consulted each other without a word, just by looking. It contained the discomfort and the fear, but also the resolution and the team spirit. All except one.

Without a word, Raven rose from her seat.

— Raven ?" Qrow wondered.

— If Summer stays, then me too. If there is one thing I am sure of, it is that she always knows how to choose the right thing to do.

She winked at her cheerleader who smiled back at her, touched by her confidence in her. Raven continued :

— But if my brother and I have to fight and risk our lives for you, we don't want to hear lies or half-truths anymore.

Ozpin smiles in front of this woman who has come here to learn how to defeat the Huntsmen acting in the end as one of them.

— Understood.

Raven nodded and sat down again. No one else had anything to add after her.

Ozpin looked at them and could not help feeling pride in front of these young Huntmen but already so determined...

— Perfect.

He breathed deeply and declared :

— In fact, the Guardian is the name given to me by the Elder. I am his envoy, charged to watch for him on Remnant. By my origins, I have... "magical powers". I am the Man with Two Souls of children's stories. I am also the Magician of the story of the Maidens, the old man who gave them the powers of the Seasons. It was also me who, much later, founded the Huntsmen Academies.

The revelations were all all more staggering than the others. He guessed it perfectly by seeing the expression of disbelief in his pupils.

Ozpin drank his cup and with a sad smile remarked :

— Are you sure you don't want to have some coffee ?

.

Sitting in chairs, quieter after digesting the coffee with the information, the Four Huntsmen tried to calmly understand what they had just heard.

— Take your time, I know what it's pretty hard to assimilate in such a short time," Ozpin told them.

— Uh...

Summer crossed and uncrossed her legs without knowing what to say.

— Headmaster... Why... No, how are you still... here, after all this time ?

Ozpin clasped his hands and stared at them for a long moment.

— I am… cursed. I made a mistake a long time ago and as a result, I've walked the surface of Remnant for thousands of years. At the moment of my death, my soul is merged with a like-minded soul.

— So, this body is... not yours?

— No, on the death of my previous body, I became the Professor Ozpin that you have in front of you. This form is not the first, and I fear it won't be my last... It's... a terribly difficult process for everyone involved.

— So... who are you ?

— I am what remains of countless brave men who spent their lives defending the people of Remnant. I lived, fought, and died to reincarnate myself in a new body with all my memories in mind.

— So ... does magic really exist ?" Taiyang said." I thought it was just a story for the kids.

— Each story is what remains of the facts after the passage of Time.

— And you... If you are a magician, does it mean you can fly, or become invisible ?

Ozpin smiled.

— Formerly, it was possible for me. But as I reincarnate, my powers dwindle accordingly. I'm only the shadow of myself but I could still use them on the two of you...

Summer and Taiyang suddenly turned to the Branwen twins. They exchanged a look; it was finally the brother who spoke to their comrade.

— Do you remember our first days together at Beacon ?

— You mean, when you wore a skirt because I tell you it was a kilt ?" Taiyang asked.

— Nah ! I was referring to the time I turned into a bird after jumping off the top floor of the Academy. You were told that it was hereditary in our family but it was not the case... The truth is that Ozpin gave us this gift.

— You turned them… into birds ... Why would you do that ?" Taiyang asked Ozpin.

This time it was Raven who spoke on their behalf :

— You say that as if he had forced us to accept it... Tai, we had the choice. We wanted it.

Taiyang did not try to continue the discussion. Raven and Qrow had their reasons and if they said that they had voluntarily chosen this ability, he took their word for it.

— Headmaster ?" asked Summer." Why these Grimms and the Four were obsessed by my eyes ? What do they have of particular ?

— Your silver eyes are an extremely rare or even extinct trait. You may be the last in the world to have those eyes, which makes you very special and I weigh my words, Summer.

— I don't understand…

— A long time ago, back before the Huntsmen and the Kingdoms, groups of silver-eyed warriors were fighting the Grimms. They were the first defenders of the Relics and the comrades-in-arms of the Four, so powerful that they were feared in the same way as the latter by the Grimms. These Silver Eyed Warriors were able to use magic through their eyes, such as striking down or freezing a Grimm.

— I have never done anything like it !

— But that does not stop the Grimms from fearing you, for your eyes and your Maiden powers.

There was a moment of awkward silence; Summer was speechless.

— I ... am really ... a Maiden ?

She remembered being called like this by the Woman in White, but to believe that such a thing was possible...

— Precisely, you are the Spring Maiden.

— You told me it was...

— I lied. In order to make you the best Hunstress possible, you shouldn't have to feel superior to others because of your abilities. This power works like my reincarnation. At the death of its host, the power comes to find a new Maiden, often a close, sometimes an unknown but always a young woman.

— I... What does it have to do with me ? Why these secrets ?

— To protect you. You see, Summer, aside from the Four and myself, few are the people who know the history of the silver eyes, and those who know it will do everything to prevent them from surfacing.

Taiyang grabbed her hand to calm her. The Headmaster closed his eyes. He perfectly understood the state of fear that overwhelmed Summer, but it should not yield to it ...

— I told you that I was the Elder's envoy and that I was at the origin of the Huntsmen Academies. My reason was to protect the Relics, the first form of the gifts of the Gods. Each of them is extremely powerful, if they were collected by a person with bad intentions, she could cause the end of the world. That's why I created the Huntsmen Academy to train generations of Humanity's protectors, but also to guard these Relics.

— An impregnable fortress," Qrow breathed.

— Yes, a place easy to defend, constantly watched by trained warriors. In this way, the silver-eyed warriors were freer of their movements in their fight against the Grimms.

— But who would want so much to have these Relics ? You speak as if you were fighting against someone... Are we talking about Grimms ?" Raven pointed out.

— Not quite.

— What ?

— That's the most terrifying secret to keep. What the world must never know.

Ozpin knew he had all the attention of his students and finally revealed the greatest secret he kept:

— The Grimms... The enemies of the Four... They obey the same mistress : the entity sent by the Benjamin to balance the balance between the living and the dead, avoid overpopulation and the destruction of Remnant in the long term. That's what Salem is, the consciousness behind the Grimms, the order behind the fangs.

.

There was a dead silence in Ozpin's office, where only the sound of the wheels running around the room dominated. The four Huntsmen in front of Ozpin were stunned. What they had just heard was...

— You... say that... someone _controls_ the Grimms ?!"choked Summer.

Ozpin nodded gravely. He was not lying. At this stage, any lie or omission would have been an insult. _He was not lying..._

— So the culpable behind the Mountain Glenn attack... The betrayal of Commander Scharnhorst and the death of his men...

— It was Salem. It's always been her. Although her nature is the same than the Grimms, she is smart. She works from the shadows, using the others to get what she wants, so that when it comes time to place the blame, we can only point at each other. Deception is her best weapon, worse than the Grimms. She will do everything in her power to bring Humanity to her feet.

— But we have to stop her then !" said Summer." Maybe we can talk to her and…

— Salem can't be stopped, neither can be reasoned with by any human or faunus. Only the Four and the Silver Eyed Warrior have this power and sadly, because she is an envoy of one of the Two Gods, the Four can't fight her, only her Grimms. At least, they maintain a statu quoi between the livings and the monsters, otherwise, Remnant would have fall a long time ago…

— And the Silver Eyed ? You said they could also fight against her !

She remembered too late Ozpin's words about it.

— I told you. You may be the last, Summer. I spent years looking for a trace of the Four or the Silver ones. Salem destroys anyone who dares to pose a threat to her. Despite all their powers, the Warriors could not resist the numerical superiority of their enemies. Since then, their number has never stopped falling to the situation in which we are now.

— And the Maiden ?" Raven asked, proof that she was following the conversation with interest.

— In the past, it was easier to know who the new Maiden were, but in face of Salem's growing victories, it was decided to let them travel alone in the manner of the Four, helping as they could where they were.

— These are only half-measures," she remarked.

— It's a security. Salem knows where the Relics are, but even if she invaded the Academies with hordes of Grimms, she would still be unable to retrieve them.

— Why ?

— The Maidens are needed to access the room where the Relics are hidden. Each of them is related to a specific Relic. Spring can only access Knowledge, Autumn, Choice, Summer, Destruction, and Winter Creation. What makes you, Summer, not only an enemy of Salem but also a target in her eyes. She will do anything to force you to open the room that protect Knowledge.

Summer swallowed hard, realizing the full extent of the responsibilities she had ignored until now... She had never understood why Ozpin had been so interested in her, but now that she knew, she preferred not to know.

— Why tell us all this ?" she finally asked." Why now and not before ?

— Because you had to see to believe it. Even though I told you everything...

— It was you who gave us the power to transform us into damn birds !" Qrow interrupts him." What we would have needed more to believe you ?! We could have prepared accordingly against the Four, these guys and the Grimms !

— No. You could not have. Even with the best will in the world. The truth is that you are not yet Huntsmen in the sense that you are sorely lacking in experience. You will only be able to develop your true potential in years.

Qrow clenched his fists and looked away from the Headmaster. He was right, as always... Mountain Glenn's experience was proof of that. He… They should have done better there !

— But if all that is true... Why don't we do anything ? We could ask the other Kingdoms to unite and fight together against her !" Taiyang suggested.

— It will not arrive. Unfortunately for us, Salem has eyes everywhere. If we decide to come together, she will create discord between us and perhaps even bring about a new Great War and that will be the end.

— But we could at least tell them!

— How do you think people will react if we told them that an evil being was behind Grimms attacks that have lasted for millennia? All that would engender would be chaos.

— But at the latest news, it's the Woman in Black who has caused the mess! She is wanted woman ! It's because of her that Atlas wants to close its borders as at the time of Mantle.

— And believe me, her act is totally understandable. When the time comes, she will explain everything in person.

— In person ?" repeated Qrow." You mean she's in Beacon?

— She is resting right now in the most protected area of the Academy.

— But you're not afraid of you attract the wrath of the Council if you are hosting a person wanted by Atlas ?

— In due course, I know that she will surrender herself to the forces of Atlas. The Four have the peace of Remnant at heart and will do everything to preserve it.

— But why is she here, Headmaster ?" Raven insisted.

Ozpin allowed himself a smile.

— I intend to ask the Four to train you.

* * *

— So ? How are you feeling ?

Marcus Blake stepped forward awkwardly. He had a deep scar on his neck, where Salem had treated his broken neck. He had insensitivities at his fingertips and feet and the slightest movement of his neck was more painful than the previous one... He would never be the best assassin in the world. This reality had broken something in him.

A void that Salem had filled in him. Inserting a seed that quickly pushed into the murderer's heart: Vengeance. She ran through Marcus' veins, evaporated through his sweat, vibrated through his muscles. She was him, and he was Vengeance. A tool still useful for Salem...

Because she was there with him in this temporary room. She watched him like a spider watching its prey caught in its web. She saw him strive to struggle against the inevitable. The day he would become useless, they both knew that she would get rid of him...

In the meantime, he was fighting against himself so as not to disappoint her. To scrounge a few more days to get the revenge he deserved. He opened and closed his hands. They were shaking as he held something between his fingers. He could never hold a weapon again. He was finished. But his experience in the world of crime was still useful to him. As a perfect observer, he had quickly assimilated his new environment.

Here, he realized that time had no influence. His room was scarcely more spacious than that of a prison, with a bed as the only furniture. The walls were stone and the only lighting came from one of these purple luminous crystals. He had a window but there was nothing in the inhospitable world of the Grimms that could interest him.

— Can I ask you a question ?" he asked Salem.

— Do it.

— I can never defeat the Four, it's a fact. So I'm curious: why did you leave me alive ?

— Oh, dear Blake. I do not need you to bring down the Four, or even Ozpin. What I expect from you is your discretion.

— You want me to hunt someone ?

— No need. The Four are on their way to Beacon. No, I want you to find the trace of my favorite doctor.

— Watts ? I thought he had grilled at Mountain Glenn.

There was a frightening silence and Marcus realized his mistake too late. The mistress of the Grimms frowned and the air around Marcus suddenly missed him ! He wanted to bring his hand to his throat but his body was paralyzed by her inhuman gaze ! He thought he was back against the Man in Black ! Salem's eyes shone with a disturbing red glow as she approached in dead silence.

— Watch your tone in front of me, Blake.

He nodded as much as his neck would allow.

— Perfect.

She turned her back on him and he collapsed to the floor, unable to support her presence any longer. Some morons considered the Faunus monsters but they had never met Salem...!

— As soon as you are fully recovered, you will both leave for Vale.

— "Both" ?

Salem reached out a hand and snapped his fingers. At his order, a man entered Marcus' room. The darkness of the room concealed his face but Blake recognized him by his posture. And the latter was speechless...

—What's up, mister the famous assassin ?

—What the...? I thought you were...

The ghost turned his head and cracked his vertebrae without a problem.

—Death ? Sorry, very little for me. I've seen too many of my comrades die to join them now, before that...

Commander Scharnhorst stepped forward in the light. As unscathed as the first day. He did not even have a scar on his neck.

—I have to save the world of the Four before it's too late.

And he smiles, as cruelly as Salem...

…

The Man in Black was walking fast through the woods, following the trail to Vale. His phenomenal memory remembered every corner of the region and all the shortcuts. Without rest, he walked at the same pace day and night to reach Selene at the end of a week as he had decided. But this march only aggravated his case: he was almost empty of Energy and only the rest could allow him to recover enough to continue his mission. It was only by his will that he continued his journey.

In order not to lose consciousness, he forced his mind to focus on one thing: the Silver-Eyed Huntress.

Like her fellows, she had been visibly trained to face the Grimms and probably by the Guardian himself. But she was not aware of the extent of her abilities, nor of her Maiden powers. If Ozpin had trained her as a Hunstress, why was she so weak ? A true Silver-Eyed Warrior, even alone, could have protected Mountain Glenn without the help of the Four. Was Ozpin unable to awaken the young woman to her true nature ? Probably no, the Silver-Eyed were subject to the Four, not to the Guardian. He knew nothing of their strengths, their traditions or their hardships. He could not teach the last of her people how to become like them.

Another question : Sélénée... After the disaster of twenty years ago, she had gone to the coldest region of Solitas where the Grimms could never find her again. So why had she been unable to get rid of Arthur Watts ? He had perceived the Energy of his sister thanks to his superhuman senses and thus was able to follow the fight between Watts and her from a distance.

Why could not she defeat him ? Would she still have feelings for her former lover ? No, the Man in Black was convinced, she would have killed him if she could. Watts had cards in his sleeves but Sélénée should have ignored them with her power. But she had hardly fought the fight against Watts and her Energy was flickering...

Something was wrong with her.

* * *

— You want us to be trained by the Four ?" Taiyang let out after a long moment of suspense.

—Yes," confirmed Ozpin." Sélénée has already agreed. She will train one of you for a period of three years.

—Three years ?

The Branwen twins exchanged a very interested look. Their mission was to become as powerful as the Huntsmen so that one day the Tribe could finally defeat them. If they were trained by the best, even the Kingdoms could not fight against them...

—I intend to ask each of them to train one of you, especially you, Summer. Your powers can change the face of the world but I am not able to teach you how to master them as quickly. Only they can in such a short time. If what the Man in Black said about the delay of one week, we must...

Someone went into his office, Ozpin looked up and saw Glynda Goodwitch come to him. He knew she would not have dared to disturb him in a meeting unless the situation required it. She handed him a paper and left without a word. It was a telegraph from the Sigma Academy that was personally addressed to him. He read the message and his gaze focused on Taiyang.

— I think I've said enough for today," Ozpin said as he watched the sun begin its descent into the sky. Tomorrow we will resume this conversation if you want it. Taiyang, please stay. I have something important to announce to you.

His students accepted his proposal and left the office and their friend with the Headmaster.

— What do you want to talk to me about ?" Taiyang asked.

Ozpin's face was serious, but also compassionate. The blonde Huntsman realized that something bad had happened...

— What's wrong ?

— Patch was attacked by the Grimms. And your mother is unfortunately one of the victims, my sincere condolences, Taiyang...

.

When he came out of Ozpin's office, his comrades were stunned to see him pale as a shroud, with tears in his eyes.

— Hey buddy, what's going on ?" Qrow asked first, approaching him.

Taiyang looked at him, holding back his sobs, his shoulders shaking.

— Patch... The Grimms, they... They have...

He could not say more under the emotion.

Summer approached him in turn, compassionate. They knew that his mother lived on the island. It was supposed to be the quietest place in all Vale, there were some Grimms but they had never been numerous enough to attack the village not far from the Sigma Academy...

— I'm sorry, Tai...

She wanted to take him in her arms and comfort him, but to the surprise of all, Raven preceded her and embraced him.

— Cry. Weep. It's ok, let it go…," she told him in a low voice.

At her words, Taiyang let go of all his sadness : his arms tightened around her and he began to scream all his grief and cry all the tears of his body by clinging to the woman he loved.

And in the depths of Summer, something was pitying the fate of this unfortunate man...

* * *

 **PS** : and doneee in a record time ! Hell yeah !

for those who guessed it, well done, I was indeed inspired by the episodes of RWBY volume 5 to explain the many revelations between Ozpin and the STRQ team. I did not know how to explain things in a natural way without falling into clichés (but I think I made some of them anyway) or worse, make it sound like a text that is recited without inspiration ! So I took here and there turns of phrases, explanations and I even inserted a little nod to the original series !

On this, I wish you a good reading and if you have comments, don't hesitate to leave me a message and don't forget to suscribe on my youtube channel... (wait what ?! I don't even have one... Who has edited my text ? Probably the evil Salem, curse you ! I'll send you the Four !) In any case, I go back to work on chapter 20 and see you soon !


	24. Chapter 20 - Welcome to Vale

**CHAPTER 20**

 _ **Welcome to Vale**_

* * *

James Ironwood was in the bowels of the subway. He was alone and held his revolver in his _right hand_. He did not know where he was neither why his handgun was locked and loaded. He just knew he had to protect someone. But who ? And against whom ?

Then he remembered that he still had his right arm. He examined it incredulous. Why was he fascinated by his arm ? He examined his revolver, he was ready to shoot. Why this useless check ?

And so came the screams. Those of multiple men and women around him. He turned his head, looked for who was screaming but saw nobody. There was only darkness moving around him like a black fog. The howls continued, grew louder, increased in numbers... There were more voices than _Conviction_ 's crew members, more than the people of Mountain Glenn... More than Remnant's... It was horrific !

Then he realized that the cries were not filled with terror. The voices were screaming a visceral anger ! A awful call to death ! And the more they screamed, the more James felt like he heard the roar of a nightmarish creature, more terrible than any Grimm's !

He looked in front of him and suddenly he saw him. How had he done not to see him before ?

He was...Non… _It_ was not human. Darkness enveloped him in place of his hooded coat, like a mother protecting her child. From his face he could see only his mouth and his chin, but James knew he was seeing him behind his screen of darkness.

Now that he was there, the screams were redoubled in ferocity ! It was unbearable for James ! These deaths, all these deaths were screaming since immemorial time for a being who would put an end to the actions of their killer!

He held out his weapon towards this monstrosity with a false human appearance and wanted to shoot, reduce this thing to nothingness.

But his revolver did not shoot. Worse, he fell to the ground.

Because James did not have a right arm anymore.

He widened his eyes as he saw the amputation stump now replacing his limb. It was not possible... It was not possible !

He let terror dominate him and he screamed in pain and horror ! His howling mingled with those of the dead and ended to complete the roar of the creature who was hiding behind the Man in Black !

The latter began to walk with a domineering step towards the commander, each of his steps changing the concrete floor into a sea of blood. And when finally he stopped in front of a helpless James Ironwood and on his knees, the world was nothing but blood, darkness and roar. His lifeless red eyes burned him on the spot and he was unable to react as he was consumed by all this malevolence...

— _**Can you hear them singing ?**_

This dead voice, icy, without the least human warmth to animate it, it was too much for James who uttered a new howl !

.

...And awoke with a start in his bed, covered in sweat and plunged into darkness.

For a moment, anguish seizes him ! Where was he ?!

Then he remembered, and calmed down... He was at the Vale Military Hospital, near the capital and the Beacon Academy. It was dark and the shutters were closed, that's all...

He took a deep breath to chase away his nightmares. He rubbed a hand on his face to wipe away the sweat and tried to grab the glass of water beside his bed with the other hand. Once again, he had the strange sensation of feeling his right arm move but when he looked at it, there was nothing ... The doctors had explained to him that this well-known phenomenon could last for years after the amputation. A request for a prosthesis had already been requested from Atlas and was waiting for an answer but James knew he would never find the same sensation as his real arm. It was a reality he had to accept.

He could still see his arm pointing his revolver at the Man in Black and the next moment, nothing except pain. And that horrible cry that tore his eardrums. A scream, his...

He heard a strange noise and saw the glass shaking in his hand. The water was falling on the bedside table...

— DAMN IT !

By rage, he threw the glass through the room that burst against the wall next to the door. He ran a hand over his face, furious of his reaction ! Almost all of his men were dead, the _Conviction_ was nothing more than a pile of junk, Rook was in a coma and he himself was one-handed now. How would the Atlas's Council react ? Surely he was going to be demoted after such a failure, but James did not care about it. He hoped that the most isolationists would not take advantage of this disaster to try to close the country's borders. After the sequestration of Count Dimër, this possibility was unfortunately to be seriously considered...

— Commander ?

It was Hood who was passing by. Given his dark circles, he did not sleep much since arriving at the hospital.

— It's nothing," James said bitterly than he would have liked.

Hood entered and took a seat near him.

— I only have bad news for you. I start with the worst : it's about Rook.

— By Monty, don't tell me he's...

— He woke up," Hood assured him." But the shock in the back of his skull caused internal bleeding in the brain. According to the doctors, he will finish the rest of his life as a blind man.

— Oh God…

— The army will reform him and he will receive a monthly pension. I thought of writing to his parents but I don't know their address.

— His mother died when he was young, I think," James recalled, searching his memory. He still has a father, and two little sisters... He gave them all of his pay at the end of the month. They are very poor.

— As Faunus, besides ..., sighed his second. His pension may be lower than a human ... I'll see what I can do to prevent that.

— Thank you. And the other bad news?

— The Council orders us to return to Solitas as soon as possible.

— That does not augur anything good...

— I think they will try to accuse you of the failure of the operation.

— A scapegoat.

— I can prepare a defense, Commander. We couldn't know who...!

— Not you, but in my case it's different. I am a soldier and a Huntsman. As a result, I would have had to guess the forces involved and react accordingly.

— No one could...!

— Guess that there exists on Remnant a being capable of destroying an entire city by a single attack ? I saw the attack, Hood. I could have ordered the helmsman to reduce our altitude, which might have saved more of our men. I did not do it. Which means that I was overwhelmed by the events and for a Huntsman, that's unacceptable. In addition, I am the youngest commander in Atlas History. This has caused me rivalries with military officers who fear that I will covet their position. The loss of the _Conviction_ and almost all of his crew is a boon to them.

— They'll drag you in the mud ! Your name will be the shame for the Huntsmen of the Academy !

James sighed for a long time.

— Maybe it's better like that. I'm finished but not you, Hood. You can still work with a new officer and climb the ladder of the hierarchy.

— You were not dragged out of a burning ship to be surrender to a military tribunal," his second declined categorically." There is necessarily a way to avoid that.

— Yes. One : bring back the Woman in Black.

— From what I've heard, she would be in a secret place in Beacon ! We will never be able to recover her, and I doubt that our ambassador ardently defends our cause as he has every interest to satisfy the big shots from Atlas!

Hood lowered his head, annoyed. James does not say anything. His medication prevented him from thinking quickly but he was convinced that nothing was done yet.

— There may be something if...," he murmured.

— Like what ?" Hood asked, leaning over to hear him better.

— When I lost my arm, I think I heard the Man in Black say something... But impossible to remember what...

He racked his brains in vain. Finally, Hood shrugged.

— Probably nothing important in our case... On this, rest well, Commander.

He got up and walked to the door.

— Hood ? (The lieutenant turned around.) It is I who will warn Rook's parents. It's my responsibility as head of the unit.

— Commander, with all due respect, we are not even a unit anymore...

Hood left the room and James found himself in the dark, unable to sleep now... He was already thinking about what he could write to Rook's family. That he had fought for values that were important to him ? No, it was out of place... Rook was... Damn, blind, and for why ? What could he say to his family if he could not explain it to himself ?

Unconsciously, he put his left arm on his missing arm and his severed flank. He remembered hearing the doctors say among themselves that his survival was theoretically impossible. Someone had to do something so that his scar wound so quickly, but nobody with a Semblance of healing lived in Mountain Glenn...

What had he heard? What had he seen?

 _A flash, a light..._

 _A beneficent wave that enveloped him like the arms of a mother..._

 _"They will live... That's all I can promise..."_

 **" One week… "**

— But of course... Hood ? HOOD !?

His second hurriedly returned to the call of his chief.

— Commander ?

— How long did we left Mountain Glenn ?

* * *

The Man in Black finally set foot in Vale after his very long journey.

He was south of the city, the agricultural district where various grain fields stretched over several thousand hectares, enough to feed the growing population of Vale.

Walking night and day had allowed him to think about what he should do now that he had arrived in the kingdom.

Obviously, Sélénée had been safe to the Beacon Academy he was observing at the other end of town. If he wanted to get in without causing a warzone, he had to use discretion. And he knew how to go about it...

His first step was already chosen, so he began to walk with a determined step in a very specific direction: the commercial sector.

Even before the disaster twenty years ago, he had rarely set foot in the largest city of Saunas because of the presence of the Guardian nearby and he acknowledged without bitterness that it had changed incredibly.

Its buildings breathed the relative tranquility in which bathed the kingdom, protected from the Grimms by its natural barriers. The buildings were of various colors, welcoming even for a stranger. He raised his head and saw a monorail bridge under construction over the houses, signs informing anyone who was interested that the work would be completed in five years and the purpose of these construction was to facilitate the mobility of residents to avoid the use of cars. With a good distribution across the city areas, there may be no more cars in Vale in a few decades...

Multiculturalism was also there. He discovered it when he arrived at the heart of the commercial sector. It had evolved remarkably with its well-kept brick façades, holographic street lamps, pedestrian crossing and clear streets. No doubt that this was the result of technological exchanges between Atlas and the rest of the world, even if the most impressive was the CCTS which formed the base of the Beacon Tower where the Guardian sat on the top floor. Its location was logical. Erected on the campus of the Academy, no one could approach it without being surrounded by hundreds of trained Huntsmen...

The Man in Black passed in front of the shop "From Dust Till Dawn". A long time ago he bought a big quantity of Dust while the store had just opened. The manager had never seen such a large amount of liens (RWBY money) in his whole life... He might not have smiled that way if he had known that his purchases had been used to concoct a bomb that had reap hundreds of lives to kill thousands of Grimms...

He continued to walk, passed the more or less rich areas, to enter into the disreputable corners of the city. It was enough to hear the sound of police sirens to be sure of the way. Here, no bricks but metal and concrete for the walls and no holograms but power lines on every corner. Unlike the rest of the city, nothing had really changed here...

He followed a long deserted avenue until he reached an old, black building, but from which resounded a muffled music from the inside. No doubt it was the Xiong Family Club.

.

Six henchmen guarded the entrance to the club, all dressed in black and wearing red glasses. The years had passed, but the sartorial tradition had visibly persisted...

One of the gangsters watched him come with a bad eye.

— What do you want, tramp ? Get out, you dirty the front !

— **I have to meet Kaoli Xiong.**

The six thugs surrounded him like a pack of wolves around a lamb.

— What ? Something must be wrong with you ! The boss has no time to lose with lousy like you.

— **He'll find some.**

The leader of the henchmen did not like his tone. He took his pistol from the holster hidden under his jacket and pointed it at the face of the hooded stranger.

— Get out of here or I'll blow your brains out.

— **Impossible.**

— Oh yeah ? And why ?

— **Because before you press the trigger, you'll all be dead already.**

The other henchmen took out their guns and pointed them on him.

The Man in Black did not lied.

They never had time to open fire...

.

As a formidable godfather of the local underworld, Kaoli Xiong knew how to keep his cool on every occasion. Even when it meant hearing gunshots and screams at the entrance of his club.

— Shit ! It's the cops ?" bellowed Cole, his associate, getting up from his chair.

A thug passed like an arrow through the entrance to the club and crashed into the dance floor, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

— Oh no... This is much worse..." declared Kaoli, emptying his glass of alcohol.

With a nod, the two girls clinging to his arms slipped away without a word.

Probably accustomed to this kind of situation, the clientele of all social classes of Vale escaped through the emergency exits, leaving only Xiong's men and drunkards slumped here and there.

A spotlight left the dance floor and turned to the entrance of the club. Behind the bluish glass doors, all could see through the pale light a human figure coming towards them.

— Let him in," Kaoli ordered in a deep voice.

His men obediently obeyed and the doors opened for the Man in Black. At his sight, Kaoli could not help swallowing.

— I would have preferred the cops...

* * *

Far from the worries of Vale's hot spots, the STRQ team had gathered on the runway of Beacon. Ozpin had offered Taiyang a few days off to attend the funeral of his mother. He who usually had a jovial face was now devastated. He had never known his father and his mother had to raise her alone. She was his only family...

— I'm...," Summer started before stopping." I hope you…

She did not know what word to use so as not to sadden him more than he already was. Fortunately for her, Taiyang knew what she could not express.

— I understand. Get well too, "he added with a forced smile.

It was Qrow's turn, more used to this kind of thing. He just put a hand on his friend's shoulder.

— See you soon. If you need to talk, do not hesitate to call, we'll be there for you.

— Thanks, Qrow. Truly. And Raven ?

Qrow looked up to the Academy roof where a raven was watching them silently.

— You know her. Never a word but always present.

— It's all her... I bet she blames me for comforting me yesterday?

— Who knows ? Maybe you managed to create a crack in the heart of glass of our favorite _tsundere_ ?" Qrow quipped.

— Maybe it's your bad luck who push her to do that ?" Tai replied.

The humor did not last. None of them knew what to say, so they left each other like this. Taiyang embarked aboard a specially chartered Bullhead, which took off immediately from the Academy.

— I wish I could help him, he makes me feel so bad in this state...," said Summer to Qrow.

— Sometimes, we can do nothing but watch and pray that it gets better.

— That's really all we can do ?

He wrapped her by one arm and pulled her against him. She did not try to escape his contact and silently both watched the Taiyang's aircraft until it disappeared on the horizon.

* * *

The Man in Black walked with sovereign steps through the Xiong club. The acolytes parted in his way but kept their weapons pointed at him. This guy was alone but they all felt the danger coming from him as a warning to those who would attack him. It was dark, it was primitive, but above all, it was not human !

Indifferent to their weapons, no more than to the terror he read in their eyes, the Man in Black climbed the stairs leading to the VIP floor from where Kaoli used to rule his empire of light and drinks.

When at last he arrived in front of him, he dominated Kaoli by his power, standing him up while the godfather was still sitting, a king of fact facing a king of right...

Cole got up, putting his hand to his jacket where a pistol was hidden, but Kaoli stopped him with an angry glare. It was stupid in front of this being. He had nothing in his arsenal capable of bending the Man in Black.

Kaoli looked at this hidden face under the hood. The darkness that reigned there was too thick for him to distinguish anything. He did not know if his face was as terrifying as his death voice.

— It's been a while. I guess you're not here to have a drink in memory of the past.

— **I need a service.**

— You come out of nowhere after missing twenty years ago, you kill six of my guards, not to mention my reputation that will suffer and the cops to whom I will have to buy their silence. Do you really expect me to deal with you ?

— **I** _ **only**_ **killed six. Trust me, I could do a lot worse...**

Kaoli knew perfectly well that he could do worse. Damn it, he knew it too well ! If he wanted to, this monster could reduce the city to ashes and it was not Beacon's apprentice heroes who could stop it !

— What do you want from me ?

— **First, dismiss your men.**

Kaoli raised his hand and the guards lowered their weapons and left the dance hall, taking with them the corpse of their colleague on the dance floor.

— What can I do _now_ for you ?

— **Do you still have your network of counterfeiters ?**

— Yes why ?

— **I need to enter Beacon.**

— The Huntsmen Academy? Why ?

— **You don't want to know…**

— So it's no. I know that look in your eyes... I don't know what you intend to do there but I don't want to get mixed up. You attract the killings like a fucking Grimm.

The Man in Black leaned forward and brought his face close to his. Kaoli could not see his features, but he could easily see the red iris of his eyes from which a destructive fire was burning. Two dragon eyes stared at him with the greed of a predator toward his next prey.

— **Have you forgotten why your father's enemies have disappeared, Kaoli ? Remember, the reason why stands before you.**

Kaoli was not dismayed by this voice colder than Solitas.

— Do you know that Ozpin has placed a bounty on a man who looks exaclty like you ?

The Man in Black leaned forward and brought his face closer to Kaoli's. In his eyes burned a destructive fire. Two dragon eyes stared at him with the greed of a predator toward his next prey.

— **If you disappeared, nobody would complain.**

— That's not how the Four act.

— **No, but that's how I do. I'm not in the mood to hear you whine while the cops arrive. I give you three days to create me a convincing identity. You better put your men right away at work.**

And the Man in Black turned his back on Kaoli. He went down the steps to the dance floor and walked to the exit.

.

Outside, the godfather's henchmen were cleaning the front of the club and erasing all traces of the six men who had dared to stand up to him. Curiously, he spotted two individuals who continued to walk towards the entrance without worrying about blood and bodies. Two individuals bearing the mark of Salem and of which he recognized one of them.

The man to whom he had broken his neck at Mountain Glenn froze when he saw him. His limbs began to shake but the reaction was not due to panic fear. His body was able to perceive the nerve impulses disordered by his recent fracture.

The other man held out an arm in front of his companion.

— We are not here for him...

The man looked at his companion, his eyes bloodshot, furious for not getting revenge. But he eventually departed from the passage of the Man in Black, probably aware that they could not defeat him, so weak he was. It was clear that if a fight broke out in Vale, the city would never be the same again...

The Man in Black put his terrifying eyes on the one who commanded. The latter did not blink, nor did he shudder at this reptilian look. Certain that he would not attack him, the Elder of the Four resumed his walk. A tacit armistice was established for the moment, but all three knew it would not last...

The Man in Black disappeared in the darkness of the streets and the two Champions of Salem entered the club and as their enemy before, climbed the steps that led to Kaoli Xiong. The godfather raised tired and angry eyes on those two guys who dared to disturb himv!

— Who are you ? You don't know that the club is closed for the moment ?

The most quietly in the world, the renegade commander took his place in front of Kaoli Xiong and clasped both hands on the table while showing an unfriendly smile.

— Forgive us the intrusion, the name is Scharnhorst, and here is my partner Marcus. We are looking for someone very important to us and we heard that you were able to find him if we put the right price...

* * *

 **PS** : A big thump up for Lordcarroty who is now following the adventures of the Four. Thank you very much for knowing that my story please ! As always, do not hesitate to leave a comment if the heart tells you and have a good summer !


	25. Chapter 21 - Patch

**_CHAPTER 21_**

 **Patch**

* * *

 _At first there was a blurry light in the darkness. It was moving and swirling like a captive explosion that could not swell. Its light was bright but imprecise, impossible for her to see what was at its origin. Emerging from nothingness, six stones gathered around the very source of this light. These formed a circle between them and began to spin around the heart in the manner of a protective barrier._

 _She blinked and then fell from the sky a shower of small crystalline pebbles that seemed attracted by this source of light, along with the traces of a malicious liquid that flowed towards the center of the mass like raindrops on a window._

 _The mass thus accumulated became a plant that grew and became a flower. But the disturbing liquid rotted the roots, attacked the body of the plant and fanned its petals._

 _The plant decays and shrinks as its shape becomes blurred and uncertain._

 _The next moment there was nothing anymore._

 _She looked around but did not see anything to look at._

 _Then struck the lightning suddenly, so strikingly that she was driven out of her dreams._

Summer awoke from a strange dream. She tried to remember it but it was... In general, she always remembered what she had dreamed. One more sign that she was not okay...

Shortly after leaving Taiyang, she had been dizzy and gone to bed. Now, the pain had passed but had been replaced by something else: a deep emptiness in her.… A chasm from which she refused to approach. It had opened in front of her after the meeting with Ozpin. She would never have thought that smiling at others could be so difficult. She wanted to run away and cry, but she still looked good and happy, even in front of Qrow, Raven or even Taiyang. She slipped out of bed and dressed hurriedly in the hope of driving out her dark thoughts. Looking at her alarm clock, she found that she had not slept more than half an hour. She hoped that this brief nap would have been enough to rid her of her headaches. Leaving the dormitory of the Team STRQ, she crossed the road to Raven, leaning on a window overlooking the outside.

— Do you feel better ?" asked his friend.

— Much better, thank you, replied Summer with a big smile.

The Huntress with long black hair shook her head.

— No need to simulate, you know...

— Huh ?

— Knowing you are the last of your kind and the target of an entity able to control the Grimms, it's a lot to swallow in a short time. It's normal to feel helpless but it's hard not to show it in front of others.

— Thank you for worrying about me, but I'm fine," said Summer, maintaining her smile.

Raven did not like being lied to. Even less by her only true friend in all Remnant. She approached the Huntress in the white cape, frowning.

— Summer, you're **not** fine.

This time, Summer's smile twitched.

— I... I assure you that !i...

She took a step back but Raven grabbed her wrist to force her to look straight into her eyes. Fear and depression were more deadly than any Grimm, every member of the Tribe knew it.

— Summer. It's okay. You don't have to pretend in front of me.

Tears rose sharply in Summer's eyes. Overwhelmed by emotion, she wrapped Raven and buried her head against her chest. She begins to speak in a fast, strangled voice :

— I could not say it...! First Ozpin... And-and then Taiyang...! I... I could not crack in front of him... He loses his mother and me, I... How could I have complained to him ?...

Letting out a sigh, Raven comforted Summer as best she could. She understood Summer. Normally, their leader was always the one who listened to others' problems and helped to overcome them. Finding yourself in the other situation with no one to confess to was a terrible burden for most people, Summer was no exception.

Looking up at the outside and the sun rising, she wondered where Taiyang was now.

* * *

Taiyang sneezed and wiped his nose with a hanky. His mother used to say that when you sneeze, it was because someone thought of you...

— It's still far away ?" he asked the pilot.

— No, we're almost here.

Through the reinforced plexiglass window, the Huntsman watched the waves of the ocean as the aircraft flew overhead. Its surface shimmered in the sun, already strong despite the early hour.

The pilot does not lie. Less than twenty minutes later, the Bullhead reached Patch, Taiyang recognized the coasts of his birthplace, breaking the monotonous surface of the ocean.

When he was younger, as a student of Signal, he loved to sail aboard a small boat and sailing away from the coast just to see them from afar.

But now, these white beaches never seemed so dull to him tah today. There was no sun in the sky to enlighten them. And black smoke still emanated from the land...

.

Someone was waiting for him. Professor Archer, former headmaster of Signal, probably here at the request of Ozpin. He had grown so old compared to his memories that Taiyang had trouble recognizing him. His black hair had turned white and he was wearing a pair of glasses now. But the worst was his sickly face, empty of exhaustion. It was hard not to seem to trouble when the Hunstman spoke to him.

— Hello, Professor Archer.

— Hello, Taiyang. Allow me to express to you on behalf of the Academy our most sincere condolences for the loss of your mother.

— Thank you Professor... How's Signal ?

— Good... the Grimms attacked the coastal village, the Academy was spared the time we could retaliate.

— And ... The village ?

Professor Archer sighed sadly. He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.

— Houses can be rebuilt, not lost lives...

He ran a hand over his face to chase away the tears.

— Sorry, it's still so... I cannot imagine what you must feel... Mountain Glenn and now Patch...

Taiyang nodded, his throat tight.

— Where did the Grimms go ?

— Exterminated. We made sure that none of them survive...

It was only then that Taiyang realized that the former headmaster had lost his left hand ! He was still standing only by the use of powerful painkillers and his Aura.

— Sorry, Professor, I didn't...

— Taiyang... I have to tell you... before you leave. We have _already_ buried your mother…

It was said.

Taiyang blinked a few times, staggering a little. His head was spinning and he needed to breathe ! There was a wooden fence not far from them and he clung to it, trying to calm himself down.

Breathe.

Expired…

Breathe.

Expired…

After an attack by Grimms, it was common for the bodies of the identified victims to be immediately buried to prevent family members from having to bear the vision of a body that was missing several parts...

— Did you put in a coffin...?

At his back, Archer shook his head sadly.

— Taiyang... It's not something you...

— I beg you ! Tell me... Tell me the truth, please !...

Archer looked at his former student, his back arched, his hands stuck to the wood, trying to hold back his tears.

— We buried... an urn," he said finally.

Taiyang fainted. His hands still clinging to the wood, he fell to his knees ! His face trembled under the tension, split between rage and despair.

.

Taiyang walked alone on the path guiding him to his old home. It was the only dwelling served by this fine pebble alley, surrounded by majestic trees and ravishing wildflowers. No Grimm had touched it, almost the entire horde had continued its course and left a handle to attack his home. Seen from afar, it seemed intact, but as Taiyang got closer, he could not miss the gigantic hole in the wall of the house. He passed by, discovered the scene like the Hunstmen before him. From the spacious living room with the television and the sofa, only scattered pieces remained, marks of claws disfiguring the floor and the first steps of the staircase.

Taiyang did not take a step inside. Blood and debris had been cleaned up, but the smell of death persisted in the room...

A Beowulf had come and destroyed everything he wanted. If Ozpin was right... This "Salem" had ordered this attack... Why ? Patch was nothing ! Just a haven of peace !

He turned around and walked into the garden. Where Archer had told him, a tombstone had been erected with some flowers. These inscriptions were inscribed in the memory of the deceased :

 _Here rests_

 _An Xia Long_

 _Loving mother_

Taiyang sits down on his knees before the tomb of his late mother. Tears began to flow freely on his bereaved face. Until that moment, he had this thin glimmer of hope that his mother was still alive, that the person underground was not her ... Now he had definitely lost his mother. A second time, in his heart...

* * *

Sitting on an ancient stone bridge not far from the port of Vale, his legs hanging limply in the air, Arthur Watts gazed at the river beneath his feet and reached the sea. His eyes watched the eternal spectacle of nature come to pass, but his spirit was elsewhere. He held a lit cigarette at the end of his fingers but did not touch it, it was slowly consumed by the wind.

He felt ... Happy? Afflicted? Terrified? Impossible to say, probably the three at once... All he had wanted in this life, he had gotten. Except for one thing... He was now so close to the goal that he could almost feel victory in the air... But his straight and certain path was now hazardous and he did not know if he was still on the right track. What he had discovered had shaken him to the gut ! He had never felt such a feeling ever since he had betrayed Sélénée's trust... What should he do ?

For twenty years he had obeyed Salem with unfailing loyalty, convinced that there was no turning back. But now, something unexpected had presented itself to him : a second chance. And he hesitated to seize it... This glimmer of hope was terribly tempting and tangible ! But also oh so dangerous : at the slightest hint of betrayal, Salem would not hesitate to kill him, whatever his feelings for Sélénée. But on the other hand…

He imagined himself well with Sélénée, hidden from the rest of the world in a lost place where never before had the Man set foot... There were still unknown lands across the globe, vanished from the memory of humanity or transformed into myths and children's tale...

But dreams were dreams, he knew perfectly well. Betraying Salem meant to be alone against everybody. Never will Sélénée take the risk of letting him come back to her side and Ozpin will have good reasons to hand him over to Atlas authorities to be tried and hanged high and short, and even if the Man in Black or Lux does not kill him first ! And if he decided to live a life of fugitive, he would not survive a month, let alone a year ! He had murdered so many people who dared to disappoint or disobey Salem that he knew what was going on : a life to keep an eye behind, with the fear of one day seeing a shadow next to its own and that this vision is the last of its existence.

Which might happen sooner than he thought...

— You take your time," he blurted suddenly.

— You are not exactly someone easy to find, but I imagined worse," responded someone behind him.

An individual came to sit next to him. Without fear of Watts, former Commander Scharnhorst removed his cigarette and smoked it with pleasure.

— Umm... This one comes from Vacuo, right ? They make the best cigs of all Remnant.

Arthur Watts did not answer him, just asking :

— I presume Salem asks for my return as soon as possible ?

— You presume well.

Scharnhorst exhaled circles of smoke with the ease of the habit. Not at all interested in his prowess, Watts continued to stare at the sea, while effectively guessing the laser point between his two shoulder blades. Salem was not stupid enough to send only one of his Champions to his heels. Marcus Blake was probably hidden on top of a roof, aiming him through the scope of a rifle, waiting for a sign or suspicious move to shoot.

— You seemed preoccupied when I arrived," remarked Scharnhorst.

— Yes... I discovered something...

— Oh ? Like what ?

Arthur Watts inwardly thanked Scharnhorst for this demand. Deep down, he needed some outside pressure to choose. And he decided which way to follow.

— I have to talk to Salem.

That's it... He was going to say everything, even to flout his own feelings and his love for the one he loved. He was aware that in revealing Sélénée's best-kept secret, the face of the world would be changed forever. Salem will throw all her strength into the battle to capture her. Will she survive the first battle that this conflict will trigger ?

— No problem. A Seer is waiting for us outside Vale.

— No. I have to talk to her directly. What I have to say is too important to tell her in any other way.

— As you wish," said the renegade commander, stretching his legs.

Scharnhorst stood up and made a sign to Marcus. He put his weapon in a suitcase specially designed to hide a rifle and got off the roof.

Arthur rose in his turn, slowly, almost reluctantly. He sighed, looking at the cloudy sky that hid the setting sun, as his hope for a different life.

After all, the lost time cannot be caught back, isn't it ?

* * *

It was the cold wind of the twilight that made Taiyang realize that he had spent the whole day in front of his mother's grave. He blinked but had trouble keeping them open. They were dry and irritated. And his clenched legs did not react when he wanted to get up. By sitting on his knees, his limbs had become hard as wood. He also realized he was shivering, maybe for hours.

If his mother saw him in this state, she would have given him a well-deserved slap for staying out in the middle of the night ! She had always known what was good for him...

Chasing his memories of a grunt, he began to massage his thighs energetically to circulate the blood. It was painful but he forced himself to continue until he could get up. He staggered to his disemboweled house. Nothing had changed in the meantime. There was always debris and dried blood. He refused to enter, to take the slightest step in this domain of death. Life had left this house with her mother, this house was no longer him now. Never again.

He turned on his heel and took the path back to the coastal village of Patch. He wanted to sleep, enjoy a few hours of unconsciousness and peace in his dreams before the reality resurfaced in the morning. He began to leave his old house when a sound of broken stone echoed above him.

He raised his head and held his breath !

Above him, standing out from the dark by his bright red stripes, Taiyang saw the tiles splitting and cracking under the mass of a terrifying Beowolf.

He was a real monster compared to his fellows, it was about 4 meters tall and bone armor covered its limbs. An Alpha...

Grimm's creature licked its fangs at this isolated prey. Obviously, this one had escaped the Patch's massacre...

— You forgot one, Prof ..." Taiyang whispered.

He realized that the Beowolf was probably attracted by his negative feelings. Grief, loss, anger... Food of choice for this monster.

The creature stepped forward to the Hunstman below. Its claws squealed on the stone, but the Grimm did not care about discretion. It wanted to kill. Kill at all costs !

The Beowolf jumped from the top of the roof onto Taiyang, which flung himself aside to avoid sharp claws like razor blades. Immediately, the Grimm threw its gaping mouth toward the soft neck of the human, but a kick of Aura-doped broke the monster's hope and some of its fangs.

Taiyang jumped up as the Beowolf shook his head to chase away the pain. Alone and unarmed, he had no chance of killing an Alpha. It was not a question of size, this creature of Grimm was a hundred times tougher and more powerful than a normal Beowolf !

 _"No need to think long in this kind of situation,"_ explained Ozpin one day during a training session, _"_ _you must act as quickly as possible."_

Act !

Quickly !

He looked around the ground looking for a weapon and saw a broken tile tip. He seized it, slicing his palm and fingers and thrusting it with all his strength into the right eye of the evil creature. The roar of the Beowolf was so deafening that Taiyang thought he was deaf for a moment ! But the Grimm turned his left eye towards him and hit him with his powerful hand. Taiyang felt like he was hit by a freight train ! His feet snapped off the ground and he get through the wall of his house, creating a second hole near the first already existing. He rolled in the living room, knocking over the last furniture still standing. Stunned by the shock, he saw in a troubled sight the monster rush into the house, forced to bend because of the low ceiling. Its mouth slammed furiously as it pulled out the piece of tile planted in its eye. Now it turned its head to the Huntsman on the ground, who was getting up and spitting blood. Taiyang did not need to take out his Scroll from his pocket to know that this one hit had cost him a lot of Aura. A second one and he will be left with nothing to defend himself ! On the other hand, his Semblance had just received a huge boost but even with bare hands, he could not hope to pierce the armor of the Alpha. He had to equip himself and he knew where...

The kitchen was behind him, so he rushed there as fast as he could in his state, the Beowolf on his heels.

Her mother had always put the same products in the same closets for years. Taiyang prayed she continued this habit after he left for Beacon. He opened a cupboard and (miracle !) found exactly what he was looking for.

When the Beowolf rushed into the kitchen, the Hunstman turned his back on him, obviously in search of something. The experienced Grimm did not waste time and threw itself on him, mouth wide open ! As it closed its jaws on the human flesh, the man turned on himself and engulfed something between its fangs. When it shut its mouth, a white cloud escaped from its fangs and spread throughout the room !

.

Taking advantage of the cloud produced by the bag of flour powder, Taiyang escaped from the kitchen and climbed at full speed the stairs that led upstairs. He burst into his old room and without lingering over all the present memories, knocked over the bed under which was a trunk. In the past, Taiyang had put a padlock on it but it was of poor quality and did not resist at the foot of the Hunstman. He opened the lid and removed a sheet that hid his most painful memory of Signal...

.

The Beowolf ended up dissipating the cloud of flour and left the kitchen, scolding and rattling all that was going on its way, furious at having missed such an opportunity to feast on the warm bowels of a human. But he heard a noise and saw calmly, the human, carrying two metal gray bracelets and two angry red eyes...

Taiyang had named them Ember Celica.

It was a pair of combat gauntlet equipped with shotgun. When he made them, he thought he had created the perfect weapon for a fighter like him.

It was a big mistake.

At the time, he was unable to control his Aura or Semblance as well as today. A day of training at Signal, his bracelets had exploded, burning the skin of his arms to the second degree, breaking his bones, and even worse : a shrapnel had hit one of his comrades at the throat, nothing serious thereafter, but the accident had deeply traumatized him. He had sworn that as long as he was not an accomplished Hunstman, he would only use his fists and feet to fight the Grimms. But now…

Now he did not care about burns or fractures. He did not care if he lost the use of his hands ! He just wanted to explode the face of this monster who had dared to seek the fight with him in his house !

With a twist of his wrists, his bracelets bustled and covered his hands and forearms. His barrels of 12 bucks rolled to the chamber, ready to be fired.

Taiyang screamed in rage and guided his gauntlets backwards. The double detonation propelled him right on the Beowolf ! He channeled all his Semblance in his fist ! Seeing him rushing at full speed on its, the Alpha could only react instinctively and reach a hand towards it in the idea of catching him in flight ! Its member disintegrated under the intensity of the Aura that released Taiyang who brought his fist back, squeezed him with all his might and struck the Grimm in the face !

.

A resounding explosion disfigured the Xiao Long's house a bit more. A snake of flame disintegrated everything that was more than a hundred yards ahead.

Inside, Taiyang breathed heavily, empty of Aura but filled with a morbid pride at the sight of the black ashes that evaporated in the air, last traces of the Grimm.

He smiled, falling on his back, unable to stay standing any longer. He raised his arms up to his eyes, expecting similar injuries to those of Signal before, and discovered that this time, Ember Celica were intact !

Relieved to be unscathed, he began to laugh, louder and louder, imagining his mother's reaction to the show in the living room, half of the kitchen and part of the garden completely burned off...

— Well, here's an opportunity to redecorate the house!" he joked.

* * *

PS : I don't know what happens while I was on vacation but when I get home and turn on my pc, what do I see ?!

Two new followers for my fanfiction ! But but but but what's going on ? Two newcomers arriving in such a short time ? Naaaaaaah ! Something is not right for sure, it's probably the site that jokes or I read badly.

And no, it's true ! In this case, I thank Merged Claressa SSJ5 Goddess and Akito for following my fanfiction and I hope to all of you, dear readers, that this chapter will please you :)

I think I will release the chapter 22 for the end of the month, but it's not sure...

See you soon !


	26. Chapter 22 - Become what you hunt

**CHAPITRE 22**

" _ **Become what you hunt"…**_

* * *

 _And you walk eternally through the shadow realms…_

 _Who are you ?_

 _Why…_

 _Where you will stand, life will not._

 _Why ?_

 _You were supposed to save us !_

 _WHY ?!_

 _The Destroyer of Worlds..._

Curled up at the end of an alley, leaning against the service door of a low-end restaurant, the man in black was plunged into a half-sleep, balancing his mind between waking and drowsiness so he could rest while being on the alert. This kind of opportunity had seriously diminished for over twenty years and he had to seize the slightest chance to recover his strength...

He had given a deadline of one week to the Guardian's Huntsmen and three to Kaoli Xiong. A night had passed since. There were only two days left before he came to pick up Sélénée. She would be healed by then and the _signal_ will not apply any sanction to them. They will then resume their march and fight against Salem as long as they can...

— You really thought you could double-cross us like that, Roman ?

He turned his eyes and saw two men dragging a lousy kid in the alley. His hair was red, barely ten years old, holding in his hands a bag dirtier than his clothes. He who seized his hand threw him in a puddle of stagnant water. Without giving him time to get up, the other man put his foot on his back and held him in the dirt. His companion grabbed the bag that the kid had dropped and emptied the contents: a cane, some provisions and a black bowler hat with a small feather tucked into its red band, and several cards of Liens.

— The son of a bitch !" hissed the mob, picking up the money." One... Two... Three... He hid us five hundred Liens, that little bastard !

The redhead tried to defend himself.

— No ! That's what I won on my...!

The hoodlum who was holding his foot on his back thrust him sharply into the dirty water. The kid struggled at once to try to get his head out of the water but his aggressor was too strong for him.

The other briefly studied the cane but found nothing interesting, the hat, on the other hand, interested him to the highest point.

— Nice piece ! It must be worth something in the two-three hundred Lyens... You surprise me that this fucker thought himself to run away with such a sum. Get him out of this shit.

The other obeyed and released the pressure of his foot slightly, allowing the kid to get his head out of the water before he drowned. He began to cough and spit out the stagnant water while the duo's leader quietly lighted a cigar with a gray lighter decorated with red.

— You have some guts for trying to leave us. But you owe us money, Roman ! You owe **me** money !

— I already paid off my debt !

With a nod from his boss, the subordinate gave a violent kick right in the belly of the kid ! He bent in two, uttering a cry of pain.

— You know it doesn't work like that ! You will have repaid me when I will have decide ! It's nice to be buddy-buddy with the son of Xiong, but nobody leaves me my permission. I gave him, Elias ?

— No, boss.

— That is what I thought.

The guy grasped the redhead by the hair to force him to look at him despite the smoke he was blowing in his face.

— Now you're going back to work for me. You will steal in all the docks that I will tell you to steal, got it ? Otherwise, I'll make you hurt so much, Roman, and trust me, you will not like it.

The kid looked right at the mobster. Despite his young age and pain, his eyes did not show the slightest hint of fear.

— Go fuck yourself, Dan.

And to add the word to the acts, he spat in his face.

The man named Dan received the injury calmly. He released the kid and Elias lifted him by the neck. His leader took a step back and wiped his face without allowing anything to express his emotions.

— OK.

Without the slightest warning, the boss punched him in the face, threw him to the ground and with the help of the cane began to beat him, all under the indifferent gaze of the Man in Black. Besides, neither the kid nor his attacker seemed to have noticed him. What was happening here was only the everyday life of the lower quarters of the Kingdoms. It was rarer in Vale or Atlas than in Vacuo, but that did not mean that this kind of thing did not exist. Those who had power dominated those who did not, and crushed under their boots those who dared to oppose them.

The door to which was leaned the Man in Black opened and a kitchen help went out, a garbage bag filled in hand. He saw the hoodlum and his accomplice hitting the kid without respite but did not say a word and contented to throw his bag in a trash and return to the kitchen.

It was not cowardice, the guy knew that by defending the kid, he was likely to find himself in the same state. The guys ready to punch a child were no better than these damned Grimms !

But that was not the problem of the Man in Black. When the service door closed, he leaned against it again, deaf and blind to the violence he witnessed.

The kid screamed in pain, but soon stopped. His cries only reinforced the sadism of his executioner !

— That's what you wanted, Roman ! That's what you wanted !

The leader of the duo ends up stopping after a long time, leaving of the kid only a wreck with a bloody face. He was shaking with pain on all sides but not a tear was running down his face. The still red face of the effort, the mobster took a deep breath as he looked around him. He then noticed the man dressed all in black looking at them with a dull look. He spat at the feet of this bum who had done well to close his mouth. He tossed him the cane that bounced next to him.

— You say a word of what you saw and I'll thrusts it deep in your shithole, understand ?

The Man in Black does not say anything. His attention was rather drawn to his victim who was lying in the dirt and blood. The little redhead turned his head towards the Man in Black and realized in his turn his existence. Through his swollen eyes, he seemed to be imploring him.

Wrong choice.

The Man in Black was not a savior but a monster. And the monsters did not help the needy...

Strangely, the kid seemed to understand. He did not ask for help. He had seen what the real world really was. A hostile world, solitary, indifferent to hopes and dreams. He knew it. He asked only one thing, one :

— Ki...

— "Ki" what ?" growled Dan, turning to him." You're asking if I will kill you ? Of course I will, you fucking brat !

He gave him a violent kick in the middle of the plexus, taking his breath away.

— Him..., was all that the kid could say before running out of air.

— SHUT UP AND DIE !" roared his aggressor as he took a switchblade from his pocket.

He had bulging eyes like a caged beast. He had only one desire: to finish it with this parasite that had ruined his day !

— _**Are you sure of what you're asking ?**_

The cold voice stopped his gesture. It was something terrible to hear for someone who had never been trained to keep their emotions under control. A breath of death, without heat or emotions. An icy sound that was a fright unparalleled to two mobsters.

— _**To take away life is not insignificant. It is a definitive act, without possible return. Once the blood's on your hands, you will never be able to get rid of it.**_

The mob turned around, holding out his blade in front of him, like a thief caught in the act, and then saw the man in black standing in front of him, the cane between his hands. Something deeply unhealthy emanated from this stranger, nothing but looking at him was intolerable !

The man's fingers in black caressed the surface of the cane without deigning to look at one of the three humans.

— _**Are you sure of your choice ?**_

With a gesture as painful as barely imperceptible, the child nodded.

— _**So be it...**_

The boss drew a furious pout and pointed his blade at the menacing stranger.

— Not bad, your little number, bum. But if you want to join the party, you've chosen the wrong guy to piss off !

Dan activated his Semblance and immediately... multiplied ! Two, four, eight, soon sixteen mobsters sharing the same face and the same glow of murderous madness looked at him, each armed with the same switchblade. The sudden increase of enemies in no way disturbed the Man in Black who simply stopped his contemplation of the cane.

— I'm Dan but they call me Legion ! How do you think you can beat me ? I can show a hundred other doubles if I want !

The Man in Black did not wait to see him try. He lifted the cane up to his haunch, holding it by the handle. With a pressure of the fingers, a firing system was activated and at the end of the cane rose a reticule, uncovering the muzzle of a canon. Even before the clones could react to what was happening before their eyes, he squeezed the trigger of the cane-canon and lodged a bullet in the forehead in one of the clones. Immediately, the others disappeared, leaving only the real guy lying dead as nail on the ground, a thin stream of blood flowing from the still smoking hole.

It was not a fluke.

And for good reason.

The Man in Black had a multitude of hyper-developed senses, far more numerous than the five to six senses of Humans and Faunus. Being able to identify the only body with a beating heart and a nervous influx among all these clones was child's play for him.

— Oh shit !" bellowed the so-called Elias as he took out his knife.

With one bound, the Man in Black was on him. He seized his hand holding the blade and guided it straight to his possessor's throat. The mob's own blade plunged into his jugular and he collapsed to the ground, eyes rolled up, his hands desperately trying to stop the blood flowing from his wound. His killer put his foot on his neck as he had previously put it on the kid. He made sure he had understood the similarity before breaking his neck with a powerful gesture.

Two corpses lay now in the stagnant water at the feet of the young, red-haired thief. He was dumbstrucked. The action did not last more than a few seconds ! Dan and Elias had been using him for years to steal warehouses full of valuable goods. Thanks to his small size, he managed to pass through the ventilation ducts or pipes to break-in. This time of suffering was over !

Something fell in front of him, he lowered his head and saw through his eyes obstructed by two cockades his hat and his cane. He raised his head to thank the stranger who had been able to give a just and decisive justice for once, but did not see anyone. The man was gone as he had come : as silently as a shadow...

* * *

Taiyang opened his eyes. Slowly. Hardly.

He saw without looking at anything. An indistinct shadow moved before him, he heard something but he was too tired to understand anything. Before he could speak a word, he plunged back into his dreamless sleep.

.

He reopened them a little later, seeing more distinctly a feminine form in front of him.

— M... Mom ?

— I had many nicknames at the Academy, but never the one of "Mom".

Taiyang realized after a long time who this voice belonged to. He straightened himself out of bed in which he was sleeping.

Opposite was Professor Archer in the company of old Farah, the village elder and a very old friend of his mother. Both were sitting on a chair near his bed.

— Uh... Hello, sir... Excuse me for... Uh...

— Hello Taiyang, you worried us, said the former Headmaster.

— Nah ! Y's roc' solid, z'kid !" laughed old Farah in her old dialect.

— What am I doing here ?

— As you took time to return, I decided to come and see what was wrong. Imagine me when I saw you in the middle of a pile of ashes. Carrying you with only one hand to the village was not a cakewalk... Fortunately, Mrs. Farah willingly agreed to look after you during your recovery.

— Y thou'ht ya wer' ded as nail, ah ! I tol' 'im zat ya just nided a good bed but y wazna list'nin' to me!

— English, Farah.

— Whaz ya git 'gains' ze patois, ya ?

— We can't understand you.

— Damn'd c'ty dw'ller...

Letting the old woman mumble under her breath, Archer returned to Taiyang.

— What happened there ?

— A Beowolf Alpha. I had to us everything I had to defeat him...

— To the point of using these gauntlets ?

The former Headmaster was referring to Ember Celica, sitting on a commode near Huntsman. He was present the day of the accident, he had been one of the few teachers to accept his choice to fight with his bare hands when his colleagues complained of wasting such potential.

— I think... it was time...

— I have the impression. I took care to contact Ozpin and he was kind enough to send one of his Huntress to accompany you.

— A Huntress ? Summer ?

— No, I don't think it's her name. I rather remember a certain... Glydia Goodwitch ? Ozpin requests your repatriation as soon as possible. He talked about a deadline, something like this...

Taiyang nodded softly. Before realising what he just had to say.

— Wait, I've been in bed for how long ?

— Three days. You woke up yesterday but you fell asleep almost immediately.

— It's today," whispered the Huntsman.

— Today what ?" asked Farah naively.

Taiyang sighed deeply. Obviously, he could not stay longer at Patch...

— Sorry, Mom..." he murmured as a last prayer before addressing Archer." Professor ? Can you tell Glydia that I'm coming ?

Archer was visibly surprised by his request.

— Are you already planning to leave ? And what about your mother's grave ?

— I've seen it once, it's enough... I don't… really want to go back... So why not go back to my friends ?

— As you wish…

Archer got up and left the room, leaving Taiyang and old Farah alone. The young Huntsman got up and grabbed his clothes that were lying on a chair.

— Farah… Can you put flowers on her grave ? he asked, hoping it was not too much to ask from the older woman.

— Of carse. An di'n't stop talkin' 'bout ya... She waz so prou' o' ya !

Taiyang smiles, a little sadly.

— Thank you, Farah.

— Ya shul' 'ave looke' at 'er lat'ly, sy waz so 'appy. Sy sai' she so an angel ! Poor girl…

— An angel ? Taiyang asked politely, not really interested, too busy to put on his jacket and equip Ember Celica.

— y's ! Sy sai' sy 'ad sin a pretty gurl, dress'd ol in white lik' an angel.

Taiyang's face decomposed. He turned slowly to old Farah and approached her to be sure to hear well.

— Sorry Farah, are you saying that my mother saw a woman dressed all in white ?

— Y's, y's.

— Thanks, Farah...

He left the dean's house and joined Archer and Glydia. He barely answered when she asked him if he was ok. He looked downcast with his lost gaze. But it was not sorrow. Taiyang was calm, focused, bubbling with cold anger...

He wondered why this Salem had attacked Patch, a small peaceful island with little interest. Now he knew why.

The Woman in White was here. Ozpin said that the Grimms attacked the places where the Four had gone. Taiyang clenched his fists until they trembled...!

This woman was going to pay !

* * *

Kaoli Xiong nervously tapped his finger on a glass table where papers and briefcase rested. Sitting in his eternal black sofa in real leather, the godfather of the underworld was waiting for the arrival of the Man in Black. Standing close to him, Cole watched with astonishment the obvious stress of his boss who nervously stared at the entrance to the club at the end of the stairs. He looked at his watch ; it was not quite time yet... He would have liked the club to be open and the music of the DJ distracted him a bit but Kaoli did not want to see anyone today. Even his henchmen had been offered a day off to keep even the least curious from the place of exchange.

— Kaoli ? Who is this guy in the end ?

Kaoli scarcely looked away from the entrance to look at his partner. He grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the table and poured a glass. He swallowed it in one go, without really appreciating the taste of the beverage.

— He's an old "knowledge" of my father... They were already knew each other before my birth. Before becoming the leader of Vale, my father had a rough time when all what's remained of the Family was this club... And one day, he appeared... He first killed the brawlers of the other Families, enough to get his attention. Then he arrived in the club, mounted these stairs and on the same table, he laid the head of the main rival of my father and both concluded a pact.

— An agreement ? Really ?" Cole chuckled.

But his boss did not joke. He continued while refilling a drink.

— Seriously. The deal was : "I kill all your enemies, in exchange, you don't touch drugs, gambling and you keep yourself away from politicians and cops".

— And your father accepted ?

Kaoli butts his glass and boils a third. Never had Cole seen him drink so much, except for the day of the birth of his son Junior.

— If this guy would die during the cleaning, he wouldn't have to keep his word.

— But he survived.

— He did more than that... He killed all the henchmen of the opposing Families, their informers, their connections with the politicians of the Council, after that, he burned all their buildings and finally, he killed the godfathers. One by one. I once saw the pictures that the cops took after the carnage, believe me : it was one hell of a mess...

— I imagine the face of your father when this guy came back to him...

— I can't... It was as if he had been offered a kingdom to rule. He agreed and this pact still dictates the conduct of the Xiong family. Neither my father nor I questioned the pact with the Man in Black.

— "The Man in Black" ? What, like in this old story for children ? What an idea to be called like that... That's why you said "this is not how the Four act" ?

— No.

Kaoli stared at his third glass of alcohol but refused to drink it. The liquid was constantly shaking in the glass because of his trembling hands.

— What "no" ?" Cole asked with interest.

— The story of the Four is not a child's story. I would even say that it's the opposite...

He preferred to rest the glass rather than drink it. This time Cole was certain that Kaoli actually believed in what he was saying.

— Kaoli, you mean there is something of true in the story of the Four ?

— That's what my dad thought. And you know that his heart was too cold for humor.

Cole did not refute his words. He knew, like everyone else in Vale, the cruelty of the previous head of the Xiong family. Anyone who tried to steal some part of his market always found dead in the end. Even Kaoli's uncle had one day tried to get a little traffic behind the back of his brother. One day he was found hanging on his balcony, hanging by his guts. If the police could not find evidence that could lead to the godfather, no one was fooled...

— There you are," Kaoli said abruptly to a third individual.

.

The Man in Black was there.

Neither gangster had heard him enter. As if he had passed through walls !

Kaoli did not need to look at his watch to know it was right at the time of the appointment. The Man in Black was machine-like on some points, punctuality pushed to the extreme was one of them...

The Man in Black climbs the stairs as before. As usual, he stood in front of Kaoli, his face bathing eternally in the darkness. However, the godfather noticed a difference compared to three days ago. He could not explain this impression but something seemed to have changed in him, and not necessarily in good...

— That's all you need to get to Beacon : an Atlessian ID, the official documents that prove that it's the Academy that sends you and in this briefcase, there is one of their uniform. Sorry if it's not your size, we have to guess your size.

The Man in Black did not give him the slightest attention. Silently, he carefully examined each line, each word of the documents, looking for an error. He found none capable of unmasking him. The counterfeiters of Xiong were always virtuosos...

Without a word, he slipped the documents into the briefcase and took it in his hand. It was only then that he seemed to remember the existence of the two humans before him.

— _**You do honor to your father.**_

The Man in Black turned and walked down the stairs, leaving behind a disgusting smell that Kaoli immediately recognized.

— I know what has changed in you... Or rather, it confirms what I thought of you.

The Man in Black stepped to hear what he had to say.

— You stink of blood and guts like Grimms that you exterminate. You have become what you hunt.

The silhouette of the Man in Black was confused with the obscurity of the club. The glasses tinkled and the lights flashed as he half turned to Kaoli. His red eye burned incandescent in the darkness of his face. Kaoli felt the limbs of his body stiffen for imminent death...! It was not the possible look of a human being.

The Elder Four's response echoed through the deserted club as the harbinger of future disasters...

— _**Not yet.**_


	27. Chapter 23 - The Secret of Sélénée

**CHAPTER 24**

 _ **Revelations and Decisions**_

* * *

There was a terrible silence in the Reliquary as well as in Salem's Kingdom.

Stupefaction and misunderstanding mingled in both places to give different reactions.

— Uh... Congratulations ? Summer said after a long moment.

— Thank you, said Sélénée with a sad smile.

* * *

— Sélénée... Pregnant ?

For the first time in his life, Arthur Watts discovered a new expression on the face of the Mistress of Grimms. Something he never thought possible from her : tenderness. She smiled innocently as she turned to the windows of the room and her Kingdom outside.

Her "human" demeanor detonated with her usual coldness.

— Pregnant... And of you ? I guess congratulations are de rigueur, isn't it ?

— Thanks, Ma'am.

— Where is she right now ?

— Into the Beacon Academy, under the guard of the Hunstmen of Ozpin.

— Ozpin... (Her face darkens at the mention of that name.) If Sélénée is there, then Raptoria must be there. She would be unable to abandon her in this state.

— What is our next move ?

— It seems that our intrusion into the _signal_ has been discovered. It will take time but we will soon be able to attract the Four wherever we want. The stronger the _signal_ , the more irresistible it will be. But for now...

As a perfect mistress of the shadow, Salem had eyes and ears in all the Kingdoms. At Atlas, a wanted notice had been issued against Sélénée following the sequestration of a forgettable count. But Conservative politicians had recuperated on their own account this story to accuse the other kingdoms of using spy networks to destabilize the power in place and put Atlas under the tutelage of foreign powers. With enough members in the Council and the support of public opinion, they were in the process of establishing an isolationist and totalitarian policy.

As a perfect connoisseur of politics and human nature, Salem knew exactly which rope to pull to aggravate this situation. In response, the Four would have no choice but to go there to prevent a second Mantle to emerge. Like Ozpin, they wanted peace, it made their decisions predictable...

— How long have you not returning to your home, dear Watts ?

She well knew the answer but Arthur did not venture to point out to her.

— Thirty years, Ma'am.

— How about seeing your homeland again ? Atlas must have changed a lot since you left.

— As you wish, Ma'am...

He got up to leave but Salem was not done with him yet.

— Before you leave, please visit our poor Tyrian. Since Mountain Glenn, the unfortunate seems to have radically changed his state of mind. See if he can still serve our cause, otherwise...

— I understand.

It was finally granted to Watts to leave, but once past the doors of the throne room, Salem called out one last time :

— Once again : congratulations, Watts.

— Thanks, Ma'am.

He left, and Salem was alone to think about the breaking news of Sélénée.

— Sélénée... Pregnant...

She needed to repeat it, as if to better understand the weight of these two words, to better assimilate the whole extent of this revelation.

Until then, Sélénée had never had any descendants.

Now she had to be a recluse in the depths of the Reliquary to heal her wounds, terrified that Salem knew about her pregnancy.

But how was this pregnancy possible ?

A human and a being such as Sélénée could not conceive a child. But Sélénée played by his own rules ... Taking this into account then everything became possible with her...

The Mistress of the Grimms rose from her throne and approached the stained glass windows. Outside, Beowulf; Creep; Goliath... All the varieties of Grimms emerged from the Black Mares and from their first steps, they were already heading towards human civilization with the primary instinct to destroy it. Pensive, she meditated on the continuation of her plans.

 _What should she do now about this child ?_

Since her separation with Ozpin and the Four, she had had only one goal in mind : to restore what had been broken in Remnant's Natural Order. This did not imply the first child of Sélénée, no ?

— Scharnhorst ?

His most faithful Champion was naturally there, as silent as the darkness that surrounded him. At the announcement of his name, he stood behind her, waiting for an order. Of course he had heard everything from the discussion between Salem and Watts...

— My Queen ?

— Leave now for Vale. Before long, the Four will travel to Atlas. Watch them during their trip. Focus all your attention on Sélénée.

— Copy that. Regarding the child, should I kill him ?

He had asked in a calm voice. No scruple had made his voice hesitate. Still showing her back, Salem turned her face slightly to him and raised her words.

— Kill him ?

— If Sélénée were to lose her child, the emotional shock would stop her resistance. Death would be a release for her compared to an eternity of grief and sorrow...

Simple and efficient. On other occasions, Salem would have been amused by his coldness similar to that of the Man in Black, but today it did nothing.

She had already broken many lives by eliminating their breed. Losing one's child was like losing one's soul. Salem knew that better than anyone. This indescribable suffering was like a brand on her soul... The Envoy of Benjamin had no trouble transposing the devastated expression of her former victims on the face of Sélénée. She could imagine her kneeling in front of her, tears flowing from eyes disconnected from all sensations as the fruit of her redemption was no more than a small body lying at her feet. Salem would have had only to lean towards her, put a finger on her chin to make her look up and contemplate all the despair of the world in her eyes...

 _"If you're a mother, that makes me a godmother, right ?"_

— No.

Scharnhorst blinked for a moment, astonished by his mistress's decision.

— No ?

— You will watch Sélénée and wait for my instructions before doing anything, is it clear ?

— Allow me to insist, your Grace. The loss of the child would surely cause the coup de grace...

From the shadow of the renegade emerged a multitude of clawed hands that grabbed his legs and then the torso, arms and head. Moved by overwhelming force, Grimms' hands forced him to bow down to Salem and wait for her to forgive him or not. She turned slowly towards him and the wind of her dress was enough to crack the windows close to her. Her eyes were glowing with an evil glow.

— You are my most beautiful creation, and my most loyal Champion, Scharnhorst, but if you discuss my orders once again, the only coup de grace that will be heard will be that of your head rolling on the ground. **Am. I. Clear ?**

— P... Forgive me... My Queen...

The hands freed him from their embrace and retreated into the commander's shadow.

Salem did not need to add anything. Her attitude alone was enough to silence any repartee.

Scharnhorst replied with a nod of obedience and withdrew.

Cleared of prying eyes, she turned her attention to her Domain of Darkness and more precisely the moon broken up in the perpetually purple sky. She removed one by one the stems that held her bun and let her long grey hair fall on her back, her shoulders and a long curl naturally took its place on the left side of her face.

The whitish glow reflected on her red irises as she murmured :

— Sélénée... You run to your loss with this child...

* * *

— ...Economics now : new disaster from Mountain Glenn, perhaps the last, hopefully : the Merlot industrial group, mainly known for its research and developments in the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics, is in the midst of financial turmoil after the destruction of his main laboratory based in the former colony and the death of its director and founder, the eminent Dr. Merlot. After the vertiginous fall of the company's capital on the stock market since a week, the main shareholders have planned to meet soon to decide on the future of the group while employees of other laboratories fear a definitive closure already arranged by the management. It was Loris Mako for Vale News Network...

James Ironwood turned off the television by clumsily holding the remote control with his left arm. He had to get used to the prehension of his new dominant limb even though he still had the feeling of having his right arm and the natural reflexes that still drove him to use the wrong hand as soon as he did not focus ...

The commander had zapped all the news channels but no one had mentioned the gigantic explosion that finished destroying Mountain Glenn and the Conviction, and it was barely if they had talked about the presence of his men there. Moreover, neither the men nor himself had been interviewed by a journalist... Someone was muzzling the press, it was obvious... Someone who don't want to attract the attention of the World on the Four.

Ozpin.

He checked the time : it had been three hours since the operation to capture the Man in Black had been launched ; since then, radio silence... Had Hood failed ?

Suddenly, Ironwood was afraid of sending his men beyond danger. If Ozpin covered the Four in one way or another, should it not be beneficial to get rid of annoying witnesses ? Who would dare to come and ask about the disappearance of an Atlassian unit operating a black operation within Beacon ?

The anxiety turned into anguish and he grabbed his Scroll to contact Hood, breaking the radio silence he had imposed himself ! He dialed the number but cursed as he noticed that his device was offline... How could it be within Vale itself...?

He blenched. A mysterious apprehension warned him that something was wrong.

He took his eyes off his Scroll and turned them towards the entrance to his hospital room...

...Where stood the Man in Black.

.

Panicked, James screamed overwriting the call button to alert medical personnel. But despite her screams and repeated requests, no one rushed into the room. In fact, it seemed that the world was reduced to this piece !

— Shriek as much as you please, or break your fingers by pressing this button, no one will come," the man explained calmly under his hood." There is only you and me now.

The Man in White advanced to his bed and without any apparent gesture, a chair mysteriously slid on the ground to allow him to sit next to the wounded. James Ironwood could not believe it... Telekinesis ! The most wanted Semblance of all Remnant ! Its owner was attracted all the attention of the powerful leaders of this world ! Is this why the Four fled from civilization ? Is that why the Grimms tracked them wherever they went ?

The Man in White sat in his chair, his hands crossed at chest height, like an interrogator. Like the Man in Black, his hood covered his face except his chin, but under the shadow of his face, he saw the icy glare of a blue eye on him.

It was the shock.

Faced with this mysterious glow, James felt disintegrated ! The pain of his missing arm, the stunning effect of morphine, all disappeared with that look. He could have believed that his arm had returned but dared not look away from that look. If that of the Man in Black was empty of all emotion, that of the Man in White was a concentrate of domineering force and James Ironwood was at the heart of this attention.

— No need to introduce ourselves, isn't it ?

James swallows with difficulty as the only reasonable proof of his approval. His pitiful state did not amuse the Man in White. He was above pettiness and mockery. Even in his condition, James knew he would have no right to clemency. But that did not stop his brain from functioning at full capacity, now rid of the numbness of the drugs. If the Man in White had wanted to kill him, he would have lost no time in introducing himself. He wanted something from him... James understood and it seemed to him that the man in front of him had followed the path of his thought.

— Go on.

— I'm here for one thing only : to know which member of Atlas Council sends you.

— Do you really expect me to answer ?" James replied curtly." I am an officer of the Atlas Army ! I won't…

— But you will answer, Commander James Ironwood. An officer promised to a bright future in the army, well... Until now...

James missed a heartbeat. This man knew his name ?! Worse, its suspended status within the army ?! How could he have access to such confidential information ?!

— Who are you, damn it ?

— I am a man of Knowledge. And I have learned a lot lately. Like your small operation in Beacon that just ended in a fiasco...

This last revelation was like a stab in the already bruised body of James. So Hood and his men had failed... What would they suffer by his fault...?

— Or also this Faunus hospitalized just a floor above us... Dived forever in a world of darkness. It would take nothing for him to kill himself in a burst of despair, no ?

James held his breath, looking up at the Man in White.

— You look at me as if to tell me that I will not dare. That I will never leave this hospital after killing someone. But who do you believe is able to stop me here below ?

James Ironwood wanted to scream again, but with rage that time, and grabbed the man by the neck to silence him ! But he was nothing since he had faced the Man in Black in the bowels of Mountain Glenn...

— If you lay a finger on him...!

— What will you do ?

A silence.

James wanted to explode and take the Man in White with him to the grave. His hand whitened as he squeezed it !

— To return to this Faunus by the name of Rook... I did speak about the threat hovering over him, but did I also mention the possibility that he could wake up tomorrow by regaining his sight ? That he can once again be able to savor the infinity of colors offered by the world ?

The wounded commander's eyes widened. Had he heard or hallucinated?

— You're lying…

— What would I gain by lying to you ?

— You annihilate a colony one day and the next day you heal a blind man ? You take me for an idiot ?

— Just like Humanity, we have a builder and destructive side. There is no difference between you and me, except that we are less numerous to achieve the same result.

— You monsters... Maybe there were still people when you destroyed everything ! Are you only able to understand it !?

New silence.

The glow in the left eye of the Man in White remained unchangeable. In the same way, his fingers remained crossed. James was unable to guess whether his insult had hit home or not.

— In your anger, you say true on one point : we the Four had to destroy cities and villages in order to save others. You are free to think of us as monsters as many have often done in the past. But in this case, you and we are hardly different.

The implication made the commander wince.

— What ?

— Thanks to us, Mountain Glenn settlers survived. They have the opportunity to rebuild everything. Do you really believe that the Grimms would have spared one of them without our help ? Did you honestly think you could have saved everyone like the hero stories ? I still remember the days when Atlas opened fire on colonies lost to the Grimms to kill as much as possible, no matter for the survivors still present. It's the Protocol 49 that Atlas's army kept from its past as Mantle, if my memory serves me right, no ?

— You forget that this order has been removed from our laws," James retorted vigorously. All who followed him in the past have been convicted of crimes against humanity !

— Yet for the last twenty years I've been traveling through Remnant, many of these criminals are still considered by Atlassians as heroes who did what was to be done, no matter the price. Yourself are among those who approve of their decision, after all...

Even in anger, James was still able to be surprised by the insight of his interlocutor.

— You speak of "this order" without specifying the general behind the Protocol 49 that was baptized by his name," calmly explained the Man in White." You respect what one man did but not one of us. Why ? Because you are arrogant.

— Arrogant ?

Curiously, this word appealed to him. His anger stopped immediately as he frowned, his gaze feverish.

— A so-called honor that excludes any superiority other than his own, all strangeness out of normality based on the idea of one. I think we can also call it arrogance.

James Ironwood felt trapped. The Man in White was still sitting in front of him, impassive, his hands still crossed. A statue. He was like a frozen statue eternally in deep meditation. He did not have the overwhelming presence of his brother but his words were enveloped in something... They influenced him as a musician was able to carry an audience into a world beyond imagination.

But what if he said true ?

James had to recognize a truth in the words of the Man in White. Humanity was at war for its survival against the Grimms. It was a total war that no one talked about and no one saw the ravages that were taking place outside the cities and their ramparts. Huntsmen were leaving for a distant destination and little by little, none returned. And a new generation took over. But between the Grimms and the defenders of Humanity, there were unfortunately still civilians who ended up paying the high price, James knew perfectly well as a soldier. At Mountain Glenn, he had seen broken families, lonely orphans looking for their parents, wives desperately calling for their fallen husbands. If he had not been able to save Mountain Glenn, would he have bombarded him with the canons of the _Conviction_ as the Four had done with their power ? The ammunition bunker of the airship had enough bombs to raze everything... And these women, these men and children included... Between a button and a destructive Semblance, was there really a difference ?

And him… what did he commit ?

— You finally realize, isn't it ?

James Ironwood gasped as he felt his unique arm tremble. No fear or anger, but of weakness.

— That Faunus, Rook, do you realize that what happened to him is your fault ? When your ship crashed, you could have stopped everything but you persisted. When you discovered my sister, you decided to stop her instead of ignoring her... And when you faced my brother... Your stubbornness has taken you a heavy price.

James stopped... It felt like being shot in the stomach. This reminder to reality awakened something in the injured, but the Man in White did not let him recover to deliver the final blow.

— The truth, Commander Ironwood, is that you are a coward. The unknown terrifies you. It is this fear that has guided you throughout your operation in Mountain Glenn. And it is your ego that prevented you from understanding when it was the right thing to stop against someone stronger than you. Your operation in Beacon is a perfect example...

James's mental defense collapsed against the ram that were the words of the Man in White. He had the manner, that of using simple words to convey the most complex truths. He leaned towards the wounded man.

— Let me reiterate my question : who sends you ?

James Ironwood was now facing himself in front of a mirror that only he could see. Yet he kept one last will in his exchange for what he was.

— If I give you what you ask, what proves to me that you will keep your word ?

— Nothing.

The Man in White had responded immediately. Without thinking to turn things in his favor. He was telling the truth, and nothing else.

James could lose everything, but on the other side, it was the Woman in White who had saved her life with her Semblance. Was there still hope for Rook ? For him ?

An endless silence.

— General Arnold Drax. Commander-in-Chief of the Atlassian Air Force...

The information he had revealed was scantly but nonetheless remained high treason. He had just been guilty of intelligence with the enemy, to reveal the process of hierarchical decision of his Kingdom to one of the members of a group having sequestered an Atlassian citizen. He risked spending the rest of his life in a high security prison for that...

The Man in White seemed to understand also the importance of the crime committed by the commander without troop. The gleam in his eye faded into the darkness and he stood up rearranging his hood to cover his eyes from his, unless he saluted his honorable sacrifice.

— You have a good heart, Commander Ironwood. It's just that you do not have what it takes to get involved in our fight. Go home, find someone and start a family. May you die one day in your bed without ever seeing us again.

.

The Man in White disappeared.

Soon, the reality of time and space resumed his rights over James and the pain and the drugs made effect. The sound of medical machines was heard again. A mist formed before his eyes and nothing worked to get rid of. Had he dreamed of this meeting ? Had all this been the fruit of his imagination ? Or that of his guilt ? Why was it only now that he realized the man he really was?

There was a knock at his door, but he barely paid attention. It was only when the two officers of the military brigade entered that he noticed them then. As was often the case with those soldiers with a very hated role of shaping their own comrades, they had no compassion for him despite his condition.

— Mr. Ironwood ? Vale Military Police. We have a warrant against you. The Council of Vale assigns you to a supervised hospital stay pending your extradition to Atlas. You are suspected of being the author of an attempt to kidnap a VIP in the Beacon Academy.

So Hood had failed... The Man in White had said true... Everything was lost for him...

— Can you just let me send a message ? It will not be long…

* * *

 _Back in the Vault_

* * *

— You're pregnant ..., finally whispered Taiyang.

He almost fell to the ground. It was not as it seemed impossible to Women in Black given that she was… Well, a woman ! But he still remembered the violence of the shockwave that shook all Mountain Glenn when she fought against the "Champions" of this Salem...

— You fight while being pregnant ?

— I did not really have a choice," she said, glaring at Ozpin.

The Headmaster briefly bowed his head in apology.

Raptoria put both her hands on Selenae's shoulders and her sister's long dark coat materialized on her skin, warming her as she felt her shiver under her palms. The simple act of getting up was a torture for the unfortunate women. Holding her in her arms, Raptoria helped her to sit at the edge of the well of Energy where she began to speak in her soft but serious voice.

— How is it possible ? It's too early…

Sélénée sighed as her legs were bathed in the liquid that began to nourish her tired body.

— I overestimated my strength apparently... That's why I tried to find you, no matter if I leave traces behind me. The irony is that in the end, it was useless... Thanks to the Guardian, even the _signal_ can become our enemy now.

Sélénée turned to the young Silver-Eyed who was looking at her with the same stupefied expression as her blond friend beside her. She was almost amused to see them so troubled for her.

— You're quite the silent one, Summer Rose.

— I'm sorry... It's just... It's so amazing that you...

— Why ? Because I am the Incarnation of a Relic ?

None of the Four had yet so openly revealed their true nature. It was disarming to let her release this information so casually, but so was the character of the Incarnation of the Choice.

— So it's right...," Qrow murmured." Are you really Relics ?

— Incarnations, to be quite accurate. What looks like a Relic is lower," she pointed at the basin at her feet.

The Huntsmen looked down at the strange waters that fed the Woman in Black. Taiyang wanted to get closer to the well, but Ozpin held out his cane to block his way.

— This liquid would kill you in an instant, he warned. It's a security. The real Relic rests at the bottom. Only the Four are insensitive.

— What is it ?" he asked, seeing Sélénée bathe her feet there.

It was Raptoria who answered him.

— What you see is an anchor point to a source of power that the Gods have named Energy. It is from this element that we draw our strength and powers that your ancestors have called Magic in the past. Think of it as your use of Dust to unleash the force within it.

— An anchor point... to what ?" inquired Taiyang.

— The Flux.

The Huntsmen had no particular reaction despite the effect desired by the Woman in White. This one showed a small smile shared between sadness and comfort.

— It is normal that this name does not tell you anything. Until today, there was only Salem, the Guardian and ourselves who knew about it... It's time for you to learn.

— It's up to you to shine !" Sélénée shot her with a tired wink.

Raptoria nodded and then got up to walk away from her sister, taking a few steps along the pool. Part of the Energy that was unrelated to Sélénée began to follow her along the edge.

— It is not easy to talk about Energy without evoking the Flux as both are linked. But for you to understand clearly, words will not be enough...

She stopped near the source of Energy and stretched a hand over the center of the basin.

— To understand the Flux, you have to understand how the universe works...

Immediately, the green flames that provided a dim light were blown. All that remained in the darkness of the Vault was the strange lights of the guardian basin of the Relic. Then Summer seemed to recognize the firmament of a star in the sky but realized afterwards that it was impossible. But it was not her imagination. Other stars came to shine in the ceiling of the Vault ! There were hundreds of millions ! More than they could have seen even after a lifetime spent behind a telescope. They had left without knowing the Vault, the Academy and even Remnant to find themselves in the middle of the galaxy, drifting into the sidereal emptiness, admiring haggard the astrophysical wonders and feats of the universe. From perfectly shaped planetary rings to dazzling remnants of a thousand shades of supernovae or even the single sheen of each sun were a sight beyond anything the Huntsmen could have imagined. Then, like a canvas applied to the walls, a work of art took place before them.

From the Energy pool came a star, bigger and shinier than any other. A star radiating a thousand fires that rose in nothingness to land on the outstretched hand of the Woman in White. Its heat was palpable on the Hunstmen's skin as if they were really close to the sun.

Their Sun...

Raven recognized it as such without being able to prove it. There was a familiarity in the flames, in the glow they produced. Then she saw something strange on the limits of her vision field : something bright was coming from Summer ! Instinctively fearing a trap, she reacts in a flash and pulls Summer back, but the source of light that surrounds Summer's body follows her.

— What the…?

All Huntsmen saw a thread of light stretch out of the Huntress and join the Sun of their system. Quickly, they found that they too were connected by a thread to the star. Soon, other connections were seen and stretched to cover each world, each star, each galaxy possible to form an interweaving of thread of light. The Woman in White commented :

— What you see is the Flux. It is a network of veins that supplies Energy to everything in the universe. Whether you or a planet, the only difference is the brightness that connects you to Flux.

Summer ran a hand over the light wire without provoking a reaction. Once again, the answers offered to her only led to more questions. She raised her silver eyes to the sky blue ones of the Woman in White. As they drifted to the center of the universe, Summer was not quite sure who was standing in front of her. At the heart of everything, a star in her hands, the ravishing woman with sad tired eyes no longer looked as human as her fragile appearance seemed to give her. Hard to believe that Ozpin and she shared a common origin as the atmosphere they released was different ! Ozpin inspired confidence and determination in his presence, but in the case of the Woman in White, the feeling was different... There was a name that came to mind, one that seemed appropriate to the strange environment in which it was : _**gravity**_. She did not provoke anything, but the slightest gesture or word drew attention to her. She imposed the eternal serenity of the planets, and the comforting warmth of the celestial bodies...

She was a star among them !

— You talk about Energy... But at Mountain Glenn, I did not see you using your Aura or your Semblance.

— Because, just like the Grimms, we are deprived of it. Our body does not work the same way as you do. Only the inhabitants of Remnant are able to use these gifts, which makes you one of the few privileged to access Energy.

Summer remained silent for a long time, contemplating her hands from where she could feel the coldness of her power. The link that connected her to this "Flux" was much brighter than that of her friends.

— Because I'm a Maiden, right ?

The Avatar of Life nodded.

— Like your friends in the Tribe, we are able to feel the Energy that flows in you. But it is limited in you... Incomplete...

— And under your tutelage, will I be able to such power ?" she asked, referring to the universe around her.

— No.

Like a sentence to all things, the Woman in White closed her hands on the Sun, putting an end to the illusion in which the Huntsmen were plunged, making them return to the Vault.

— Just like Dust, a Maiden is limited to a single element, to avoid a single Maiden being tempted to dominate Remnant with too much power. But do not be disappointed, once your powers perfectly mastered, you will be able to freeze deserts if that is your desire.

— Freeze deserts ?...," repeated Summer without really believing it.

— Summer...

Raven made it clear to her friend that the discussion had to be put back on track. The proud warrior of the Tribe questioned the Woman in Black, still bathing in the well of Energy.

— This energy affects your pregnancy, right ?

Sélénée expressed a certain enthusiasm for the insight of the Huntress.

— Oh~... good deduction ! You are worthy of ancestors, warrior of the Tribe... The fact is that our body is so bathed in Energy that it is a poison to the development of a foetus. I must regulate it to keep only the bare minimum in case of problem, even if it means prolonging the pregnancy considerably... It's like playing the equilibrist : the slightest mistake and... Well, you get it.

— That's why you ended up in this state at Mountain Glenn," Raven continued.

— We all have been wrecked there, for me, it was just a bit more than others..." defended Sélénée with her ironic smile.

— It's painful ?

The question came from Summer. She had posed it without morbid intent, just by empathy for the sufferings of the Woman in Black.

— The last time I saw you, you...

— If you want to talk about my arm, it's nothing that Energy can't help me regenerate !" she assured, making a swinging motion with her arm.

— You were on the verge of dying...

This time, Sélénée did not have a mischievous smile in reserve to divert the subject from the conversation. With a gloomy face, she looked down at both hands. Especially the one she lost with the destruction of Mountain Glenn.

— I have spent my life suffering... But you don't have to worry about me.

— Not to worry…? But you are pregnant, damnit !" exclaimed Qrow, furious at being considered children by this woman still recovering." You should be safe, far from Salem...!

The response of the Woman in Black to Hunstman's considerations was scathing.

She burst out laughing without joy or mockery.

It was more like a cry of tears thrown back behind a curtain of black humor.

— You didn't have to listen when your teacher was talking, you... You don't know how easy Salem can influence Remnant. There are no limits immoral or ignoble enough to stop her. What she wants, she will have it.

— So what ? Everything is lost even before you start ?" Raven said.

— If so, do you really think we would be here to train you ?

Sélénée's piquant but honest repartee displeased Raven.

— If so, how are you going to train in your condition ?" she asked with a certain contempt in her voice.

— Raven, by Monty…," Taiyang sighed behind her.

— I already love this girl," said Sélénée.

After almost decapitating him with her scythe, Qrow was not sure that trying to provoke her was a good idea from her sister.

Ozpin knew it perfectly well, perhaps that was why he resume after his criticism sooner.

— I cannot speak for all of you, but according to Sélénée's state, I guess it takes at least a year for you to recover your Energy. Unfortunately, time is against us. Now that Atlas is interested in you, it will be necessary to defuse the situation there as quickly as possible before Salem makes things worse...

If the remark could have seemed accusing of Sélénée's actions, she only shrugged her shoulders and commented ironically.

— I didn't know that a little count could drive an entire army to nab me. But there will be plenty of time to train them.

— Time ?" repeated Raven." What are we talking about ? Three months ? Four ?

The Woman in White, who had now taken her place on the banks of the pond, said nothing. Her eyes slowly turned to darkness and their most loyal lover. It was from this dark shadow that a lifeless voice rose. Two words resounded in the vault.

— **Three years.**

A silence. Had they heard correctly ?

The Woman in Black now spoke in a slow voice.

— When I said that the pregnancy was prolonged, I did not speak in months... We take years to give birth.

And seeing their incredulous expression, even on the face of this "Raven", she could not restrain a wolf's smile.

— You better hang on !

* * *

 **PS** : Hello everyone !

First at all, happy new year everybody ! Best wishes, health, all that... You know the song.

Secondly... You have no idea how much this chapter 24 has been hard and looooong to do! At the beginning of February, I had already finished the passage of Salem and Ironwood. I had only to finish the passage in the vault and suddenly! BLANK PAGE

Faced with a breakdown of inspiration, I took more than three months to finally find the words and establish a correct order in my sentences. I do not remember having lost so much time on one passage so far! And yet I have known moments where I can not find the words! ^^

Also, say hello to DistantWhite and Wicho Poncho for following my fanfic ! Thanks a lot ! :)

In the end, thank you for your reading and I wish you good luck if one day you happen to be in a situation similar to mine!


	28. Chapter 24 - Revelations and Decisions

**CHAPTER 24**

 _ **Revelations and Decisions**_

* * *

There was a terrible silence in the Reliquary as well as in Salem's Kingdom.

Stupefaction and misunderstanding mingled in both places to give different reactions.

— Uh... Congratulations ? Summer said after a long moment.

— Thank you, said Sélénée with a sad smile.

* * *

— Sélénée... Pregnant ?

For the first time in his life, Arthur Watts discovered a new expression on the face of the Mistress of Grimms. Something he never thought possible from her : tenderness. She smiled innocently as she turned to the windows of the room and her Kingdom outside.

Her "human" demeanor detonated with her usual coldness.

— Pregnant... And of you ? I guess congratulations are de rigueur, isn't it ?

— Thanks, Ma'am.

— Where is she right now ?

— Into the Beacon Academy, under the guard of the Hunstmen of Ozpin.

— Ozpin... (Her face darkens at the mention of that name.) If Sélénée is there, then Raptoria must be there. She would be unable to abandon her in this state.

— What is our next move ?

— It seems that our intrusion into the _signal_ has been discovered. It will take time but we will soon be able to attract the Four wherever we want. The stronger the _signal_ , the more irresistible it will be. But for now...

As a perfect mistress of the shadow, Salem had eyes and ears in all the Kingdoms. At Atlas, a wanted notice had been issued against Sélénée following the sequestration of a forgettable count. But Conservative politicians had recuperated on their own account this story to accuse the other kingdoms of using spy networks to destabilize the power in place and put Atlas under the tutelage of foreign powers. With enough members in the Council and the support of public opinion, they were in the process of establishing an isolationist and totalitarian policy.

As a perfect connoisseur of politics and human nature, Salem knew exactly which rope to pull to aggravate this situation. In response, the Four would have no choice but to go there to prevent a second Mantle to emerge. Like Ozpin, they wanted peace, it made their decisions predictable...

— How long have you not returning to your home, dear Watts ?

She well knew the answer but Arthur did not venture to point out to her.

— Thirty years, Ma'am.

— How about seeing your homeland again ? Atlas must have changed a lot since you left.

— As you wish, Ma'am...

He got up to leave but Salem was not done with him yet.

— Before you leave, please visit our poor Tyrian. Since Mountain Glenn, the unfortunate seems to have radically changed his state of mind. See if he can still serve our cause, otherwise...

— I understand.

It was finally granted to Watts to leave, but once past the doors of the throne room, Salem called out one last time :

— Once again : congratulations, Watts.

— Thanks, Ma'am.

He left, and Salem was alone to think about the breaking news of Sélénée.

— Sélénée... Pregnant...

She needed to repeat it, as if to better understand the weight of these two words, to better assimilate the whole extent of this revelation.

Until then, Sélénée had never had any descendants.

Now she had to be a recluse in the depths of the Reliquary to heal her wounds, terrified that Salem knew about her pregnancy.

But how was this pregnancy possible ?

A human and a being such as Sélénée could not conceive a child. But Sélénée played by his own rules ... Taking this into account then everything became possible with her...

The Mistress of the Grimms rose from her throne and approached the stained glass windows. Outside, Beowulf; Creep; Goliath... All the varieties of Grimms emerged from the Black Mares and from their first steps, they were already heading towards human civilization with the primary instinct to destroy it. Pensive, she meditated on the continuation of her plans.

 _What should she do now about this child ?_

Since her separation with Ozpin and the Four, she had had only one goal in mind : to restore what had been broken in Remnant's Natural Order. This did not imply the first child of Sélénée, no ?

— Scharnhorst ?

His most faithful Champion was naturally there, as silent as the darkness that surrounded him. At the announcement of his name, he stood behind her, waiting for an order. Of course he had heard everything from the discussion between Salem and Watts...

— My Queen ?

— Leave now for Vale. Before long, the Four will travel to Atlas. Watch them during their trip. Focus all your attention on Sélénée.

— Copy that. Regarding the child, should I kill him ?

He had asked in a calm voice. No scruple had made his voice hesitate. Still showing her back, Salem turned her face slightly to him and raised her words.

— Kill him ?

— If Sélénée were to lose her child, the emotional shock would stop her resistance. Death would be a release for her compared to an eternity of grief and sorrow...

Simple and efficient. On other occasions, Salem would have been amused by his coldness similar to that of the Man in Black, but today it did nothing.

She had already broken many lives by eliminating their breed. Losing one's child was like losing one's soul. Salem knew that better than anyone. This indescribable suffering was like a brand on her soul... The Envoy of Benjamin had no trouble transposing the devastated expression of her former victims on the face of Sélénée. She could imagine her kneeling in front of her, tears flowing from eyes disconnected from all sensations as the fruit of her redemption was no more than a small body lying at her feet. Salem would have had only to lean towards her, put a finger on her chin to make her look up and contemplate all the despair of the world in her eyes...

 _"If you're a mother, that makes me a godmother, right ?"_

— No.

Scharnhorst blinked for a moment, astonished by his mistress's decision.

— No ?

— You will watch Sélénée and wait for my instructions before doing anything, is it clear ?

— Allow me to insist, your Grace. The loss of the child would surely cause the coup de grace...

From the shadow of the renegade emerged a multitude of clawed hands that grabbed his legs and then the torso, arms and head. Moved by overwhelming force, Grimms' hands forced him to bow down to Salem and wait for her to forgive him or not. She turned slowly towards him and the wind of her dress was enough to crack the windows close to her. Her eyes were glowing with an evil glow.

— You are my most beautiful creation, and my most loyal Champion, Scharnhorst, but if you discuss my orders once again, the only coup de grace that will be heard will be that of your head rolling on the ground. **Am. I. Clear ?**

— P... Forgive me... My Queen...

The hands freed him from their embrace and retreated into the commander's shadow.

Salem did not need to add anything. Her attitude alone was enough to silence any repartee.

Scharnhorst replied with a nod of obedience and withdrew.

Cleared of prying eyes, she turned her attention to her Domain of Darkness and more precisely the moon broken up in the perpetually purple sky. She removed one by one the stems that held her bun and let her long grey hair fall on her back, her shoulders and a long curl naturally took its place on the left side of her face.

The whitish glow reflected on her red irises as she murmured :

— Sélénée... You run to your loss with this child...

* * *

— ...Economics now : new disaster from Mountain Glenn, perhaps the last, hopefully : the Merlot industrial group, mainly known for its research and developments in the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics, is in the midst of financial turmoil after the destruction of his main laboratory based in the former colony and the death of its director and founder, the eminent Dr. Merlot. After the vertiginous fall of the company's capital on the stock market since a week, the main shareholders have planned to meet soon to decide on the future of the group while employees of other laboratories fear a definitive closure already arranged by the management. It was Loris Mako for Vale News Network...

James Ironwood turned off the television by clumsily holding the remote control with his left arm. He had to get used to the prehension of his new dominant limb even though he still had the feeling of having his right arm and the natural reflexes that still drove him to use the wrong hand as soon as he did not focus ...

The commander had zapped all the news channels but no one had mentioned the gigantic explosion that finished destroying Mountain Glenn and the Conviction, and it was barely if they had talked about the presence of his men there. Moreover, neither the men nor himself had been interviewed by a journalist... Someone was muzzling the press, it was obvious... Someone who don't want to attract the attention of the World on the Four.

Ozpin.

He checked the time : it had been three hours since the operation to capture the Man in Black had been launched ; since then, radio silence... Had Hood failed ?

Suddenly, Ironwood was afraid of sending his men beyond danger. If Ozpin covered the Four in one way or another, should it not be beneficial to get rid of annoying witnesses ? Who would dare to come and ask about the disappearance of an Atlassian unit operating a black operation within Beacon ?

The anxiety turned into anguish and he grabbed his Scroll to contact Hood, breaking the radio silence he had imposed himself ! He dialed the number but cursed as he noticed that his device was offline... How could it be within Vale itself...?

He blenched. A mysterious apprehension warned him that something was wrong.

He took his eyes off his Scroll and turned them towards the entrance to his hospital room...

...Where stood the Man in Black.

.

Panicked, James screamed overwriting the call button to alert medical personnel. But despite her screams and repeated requests, no one rushed into the room. In fact, it seemed that the world was reduced to this piece !

— Shriek as much as you please, or break your fingers by pressing this button, no one will come," the man explained calmly under his hood." There is only you and me now.

The Man in White advanced to his bed and without any apparent gesture, a chair mysteriously slid on the ground to allow him to sit next to the wounded. James Ironwood could not believe it... Telekinesis ! The most wanted Semblance of all Remnant ! Its owner was attracted all the attention of the powerful leaders of this world ! Is this why the Four fled from civilization ? Is that why the Grimms tracked them wherever they went ?

The Man in White sat in his chair, his hands crossed at chest height, like an interrogator. Like the Man in Black, his hood covered his face except his chin, but under the shadow of his face, he saw the icy glare of a blue eye on him.

It was the shock.

Faced with this mysterious glow, James felt disintegrated ! The pain of his missing arm, the stunning effect of morphine, all disappeared with that look. He could have believed that his arm had returned but dared not look away from that look. If that of the Man in Black was empty of all emotion, that of the Man in White was a concentrate of domineering force and James Ironwood was at the heart of this attention.

— No need to introduce ourselves, isn't it ?

James swallows with difficulty as the only reasonable proof of his approval. His pitiful state did not amuse the Man in White. He was above pettiness and mockery. Even in his condition, James knew he would have no right to clemency. But that did not stop his brain from functioning at full capacity, now rid of the numbness of the drugs. If the Man in White had wanted to kill him, he would have lost no time in introducing himself. He wanted something from him... James understood and it seemed to him that the man in front of him had followed the path of his thought.

— Go on.

— I'm here for one thing only : to know which member of Atlas Council sends you.

— Do you really expect me to answer ?" James replied curtly." I am an officer of the Atlas Army ! I won't…

— But you will answer, Commander James Ironwood. An officer promised to a bright future in the army, well... Until now...

James missed a heartbeat. This man knew his name ?! Worse, its suspended status within the army ?! How could he have access to such confidential information ?!

— Who are you, damn it ?

— I am a man of Knowledge. And I have learned a lot lately. Like your small operation in Beacon that just ended in a fiasco...

This last revelation was like a stab in the already bruised body of James. So Hood and his men had failed... What would they suffer by his fault...?

— Or also this Faunus hospitalized just a floor above us... Dived forever in a world of darkness. It would take nothing for him to kill himself in a burst of despair, no ?

James held his breath, looking up at the Man in White.

— You look at me as if to tell me that I will not dare. That I will never leave this hospital after killing someone. But who do you believe is able to stop me here below ?

James Ironwood wanted to scream again, but with rage that time, and grabbed the man by the neck to silence him ! But he was nothing since he had faced the Man in Black in the bowels of Mountain Glenn...

— If you lay a finger on him...!

— What will you do ?

A silence.

James wanted to explode and take the Man in White with him to the grave. His hand whitened as he squeezed it !

— To return to this Faunus by the name of Rook... I did speak about the threat hovering over him, but did I also mention the possibility that he could wake up tomorrow by regaining his sight ? That he can once again be able to savor the infinity of colors offered by the world ?

The wounded commander's eyes widened. Had he heard or hallucinated?

— You're lying…

— What would I gain by lying to you ?

— You annihilate a colony one day and the next day you heal a blind man ? You take me for an idiot ?

— Just like Humanity, we have a builder and destructive side. There is no difference between you and me, except that we are less numerous to achieve the same result.

— You monsters... Maybe there were still people when you destroyed everything ! Are you only able to understand it !?

New silence.

The glow in the left eye of the Man in White remained unchangeable. In the same way, his fingers remained crossed. James was unable to guess whether his insult had hit home or not.

— In your anger, you say true on one point : we the Four had to destroy cities and villages in order to save others. You are free to think of us as monsters as many have often done in the past. But in this case, you and we are hardly different.

The implication made the commander wince.

— What ?

— Thanks to us, Mountain Glenn settlers survived. They have the opportunity to rebuild everything. Do you really believe that the Grimms would have spared one of them without our help ? Did you honestly think you could have saved everyone like the hero stories ? I still remember the days when Atlas opened fire on colonies lost to the Grimms to kill as much as possible, no matter for the survivors still present. It's the Protocol 49 that Atlas's army kept from its past as Mantle, if my memory serves me right, no ?

— You forget that this order has been removed from our laws," James retorted vigorously. All who followed him in the past have been convicted of crimes against humanity !

— Yet for the last twenty years I've been traveling through Remnant, many of these criminals are still considered by Atlassians as heroes who did what was to be done, no matter the price. Yourself are among those who approve of their decision, after all...

Even in anger, James was still able to be surprised by the insight of his interlocutor.

— You speak of "this order" without specifying the general behind the Protocol 49 that was baptized by his name," calmly explained the Man in White." You respect what one man did but not one of us. Why ? Because you are arrogant.

— Arrogant ?

Curiously, this word appealed to him. His anger stopped immediately as he frowned, his gaze feverish.

— A so-called honor that excludes any superiority other than his own, all strangeness out of normality based on the idea of one. I think we can also call it arrogance.

James Ironwood felt trapped. The Man in White was still sitting in front of him, impassive, his hands still crossed. A statue. He was like a frozen statue eternally in deep meditation. He did not have the overwhelming presence of his brother but his words were enveloped in something... They influenced him as a musician was able to carry an audience into a world beyond imagination.

But what if he said true ?

James had to recognize a truth in the words of the Man in White. Humanity was at war for its survival against the Grimms. It was a total war that no one talked about and no one saw the ravages that were taking place outside the cities and their ramparts. Huntsmen were leaving for a distant destination and little by little, none returned. And a new generation took over. But between the Grimms and the defenders of Humanity, there were unfortunately still civilians who ended up paying the high price, James knew perfectly well as a soldier. At Mountain Glenn, he had seen broken families, lonely orphans looking for their parents, wives desperately calling for their fallen husbands. If he had not been able to save Mountain Glenn, would he have bombarded him with the canons of the _Conviction_ as the Four had done with their power ? The ammunition bunker of the airship had enough bombs to raze everything... And these women, these men and children included... Between a button and a destructive Semblance, was there really a difference ?

And him… what did he commit ?

— You finally realize, isn't it ?

James Ironwood gasped as he felt his unique arm tremble. No fear or anger, but of weakness.

— That Faunus, Rook, do you realize that what happened to him is your fault ? When your ship crashed, you could have stopped everything but you persisted. When you discovered my sister, you decided to stop her instead of ignoring her... And when you faced my brother... Your stubbornness has taken you a heavy price.

James stopped... It felt like being shot in the stomach. This reminder to reality awakened something in the injured, but the Man in White did not let him recover to deliver the final blow.

— The truth, Commander Ironwood, is that you are a coward. The unknown terrifies you. It is this fear that has guided you throughout your operation in Mountain Glenn. And it is your ego that prevented you from understanding when it was the right thing to stop against someone stronger than you. Your operation in Beacon is a perfect example...

James's mental defense collapsed against the ram that were the words of the Man in White. He had the manner, that of using simple words to convey the most complex truths. He leaned towards the wounded man.

— Let me reiterate my question : who sends you ?

James Ironwood was now facing himself in front of a mirror that only he could see. Yet he kept one last will in his exchange for what he was.

— If I give you what you ask, what proves to me that you will keep your word ?

— Nothing.

The Man in White had responded immediately. Without thinking to turn things in his favor. He was telling the truth, and nothing else.

James could lose everything, but on the other side, it was the Woman in White who had saved her life with her Semblance. Was there still hope for Rook ? For him ?

An endless silence.

— General Arnold Drax. Commander-in-Chief of the Atlassian Air Force...

The information he had revealed was scantly but nonetheless remained high treason. He had just been guilty of intelligence with the enemy, to reveal the process of hierarchical decision of his Kingdom to one of the members of a group having sequestered an Atlassian citizen. He risked spending the rest of his life in a high security prison for that...

The Man in White seemed to understand also the importance of the crime committed by the commander without troop. The gleam in his eye faded into the darkness and he stood up rearranging his hood to cover his eyes from his, unless he saluted his honorable sacrifice.

— You have a good heart, Commander Ironwood. It's just that you do not have what it takes to get involved in our fight. Go home, find someone and start a family. May you die one day in your bed without ever seeing us again.

.

The Man in White disappeared.

Soon, the reality of time and space resumed his rights over James and the pain and the drugs made effect. The sound of medical machines was heard again. A mist formed before his eyes and nothing worked to get rid of. Had he dreamed of this meeting ? Had all this been the fruit of his imagination ? Or that of his guilt ? Why was it only now that he realized the man he really was?

There was a knock at his door, but he barely paid attention. It was only when the two officers of the military brigade entered that he noticed them then. As was often the case with those soldiers with a very hated role of shaping their own comrades, they had no compassion for him despite his condition.

— Mr. Ironwood ? Vale Military Police. We have a warrant against you. The Council of Vale assigns you to a supervised hospital stay pending your extradition to Atlas. You are suspected of being the author of an attempt to kidnap a VIP in the Beacon Academy.

So Hood had failed... The Man in White had said true... Everything was lost for him...

— Can you just let me send a message ? It will not be long…

* * *

 _Back in the Vault_

* * *

— You're pregnant ..., finally whispered Taiyang.

He almost fell to the ground. It was not as it seemed impossible to Women in Black given that she was… Well, a woman ! But he still remembered the violence of the shockwave that shook all Mountain Glenn when she fought against the "Champions" of this Salem...

— You fight while being pregnant ?

— I did not really have a choice," she said, glaring at Ozpin.

The Headmaster briefly bowed his head in apology.

Raptoria put both her hands on Selenae's shoulders and her sister's long dark coat materialized on her skin, warming her as she felt her shiver under her palms. The simple act of getting up was a torture for the unfortunate women. Holding her in her arms, Raptoria helped her to sit at the edge of the well of Energy where she began to speak in her soft but serious voice.

— How is it possible ? It's too early…

Sélénée sighed as her legs were bathed in the liquid that began to nourish her tired body.

— I overestimated my strength apparently... That's why I tried to find you, no matter if I leave traces behind me. The irony is that in the end, it was useless... Thanks to the Guardian, even the _signal_ can become our enemy now.

Sélénée turned to the young Silver-Eyed who was looking at her with the same stupefied expression as her blond friend beside her. She was almost amused to see them so troubled for her.

— You're quite the silent one, Summer Rose.

— I'm sorry... It's just... It's so amazing that you...

— Why ? Because I am the Incarnation of a Relic ?

None of the Four had yet so openly revealed their true nature. It was disarming to let her release this information so casually, but so was the character of the Incarnation of the Choice.

— So it's right...," Qrow murmured." Are you really Relics ?

— Incarnations, to be quite accurate. What looks like a Relic is lower," she pointed at the basin at her feet.

The Huntsmen looked down at the strange waters that fed the Woman in Black. Taiyang wanted to get closer to the well, but Ozpin held out his cane to block his way.

— This liquid would kill you in an instant, he warned. It's a security. The real Relic rests at the bottom. Only the Four are insensitive.

— What is it ?" he asked, seeing Sélénée bathe her feet there.

It was Raptoria who answered him.

— What you see is an anchor point to a source of power that the Gods have named Energy. It is from this element that we draw our strength and powers that your ancestors have called Magic in the past. Think of it as your use of Dust to unleash the force within it.

— An anchor point... to what ?" inquired Taiyang.

— The Flux.

The Huntsmen had no particular reaction despite the effect desired by the Woman in White. This one showed a small smile shared between sadness and comfort.

— It is normal that this name does not tell you anything. Until today, there was only Salem, the Guardian and ourselves who knew about it... It's time for you to learn.

— It's up to you to shine !" Sélénée shot her with a tired wink.

Raptoria nodded and then got up to walk away from her sister, taking a few steps along the pool. Part of the Energy that was unrelated to Sélénée began to follow her along the edge.

— It is not easy to talk about Energy without evoking the Flux as both are linked. But for you to understand clearly, words will not be enough...

She stopped near the source of Energy and stretched a hand over the center of the basin.

— To understand the Flux, you have to understand how the universe works...

Immediately, the green flames that provided a dim light were blown. All that remained in the darkness of the Vault was the strange lights of the guardian basin of the Relic. Then Summer seemed to recognize the firmament of a star in the sky but realized afterwards that it was impossible. But it was not her imagination. Other stars came to shine in the ceiling of the Vault ! There were hundreds of millions ! More than they could have seen even after a lifetime spent behind a telescope. They had left without knowing the Vault, the Academy and even Remnant to find themselves in the middle of the galaxy, drifting into the sidereal emptiness, admiring haggard the astrophysical wonders and feats of the universe. From perfectly shaped planetary rings to dazzling remnants of a thousand shades of supernovae or even the single sheen of each sun were a sight beyond anything the Huntsmen could have imagined. Then, like a canvas applied to the walls, a work of art took place before them.

From the Energy pool came a star, bigger and shinier than any other. A star radiating a thousand fires that rose in nothingness to land on the outstretched hand of the Woman in White. Its heat was palpable on the Hunstmen's skin as if they were really close to the sun.

Their Sun...

Raven recognized it as such without being able to prove it. There was a familiarity in the flames, in the glow they produced. Then she saw something strange on the limits of her vision field : something bright was coming from Summer ! Instinctively fearing a trap, she reacts in a flash and pulls Summer back, but the source of light that surrounds Summer's body follows her.

— What the…?

All Huntsmen saw a thread of light stretch out of the Huntress and join the Sun of their system. Quickly, they found that they too were connected by a thread to the star. Soon, other connections were seen and stretched to cover each world, each star, each galaxy possible to form an interweaving of thread of light. The Woman in White commented :

— What you see is the Flux. It is a network of veins that supplies Energy to everything in the universe. Whether you or a planet, the only difference is the brightness that connects you to Flux.

Summer ran a hand over the light wire without provoking a reaction. Once again, the answers offered to her only led to more questions. She raised her silver eyes to the sky blue ones of the Woman in White. As they drifted to the center of the universe, Summer was not quite sure who was standing in front of her. At the heart of everything, a star in her hands, the ravishing woman with sad tired eyes no longer looked as human as her fragile appearance seemed to give her. Hard to believe that Ozpin and she shared a common origin as the atmosphere they released was different ! Ozpin inspired confidence and determination in his presence, but in the case of the Woman in White, the feeling was different... There was a name that came to mind, one that seemed appropriate to the strange environment in which it was : _**gravity**_. She did not provoke anything, but the slightest gesture or word drew attention to her. She imposed the eternal serenity of the planets, and the comforting warmth of the celestial bodies...

She was a star among them !

— You talk about Energy... But at Mountain Glenn, I did not see you using your Aura or your Semblance.

— Because, just like the Grimms, we are deprived of it. Our body does not work the same way as you do. Only the inhabitants of Remnant are able to use these gifts, which makes you one of the few privileged to access Energy.

Summer remained silent for a long time, contemplating her hands from where she could feel the coldness of her power. The link that connected her to this "Flux" was much brighter than that of her friends.

— Because I'm a Maiden, right ?

The Avatar of Life nodded.

— Like your friends in the Tribe, we are able to feel the Energy that flows in you. But it is limited in you... Incomplete...

— And under your tutelage, will I be able to such power ?" she asked, referring to the universe around her.

— No.

Like a sentence to all things, the Woman in White closed her hands on the Sun, putting an end to the illusion in which the Huntsmen were plunged, making them return to the Vault.

— Just like Dust, a Maiden is limited to a single element, to avoid a single Maiden being tempted to dominate Remnant with too much power. But do not be disappointed, once your powers perfectly mastered, you will be able to freeze deserts if that is your desire.

— Freeze deserts ?...," repeated Summer without really believing it.

— Summer...

Raven made it clear to her friend that the discussion had to be put back on track. The proud warrior of the Tribe questioned the Woman in Black, still bathing in the well of Energy.

— This energy affects your pregnancy, right ?

Sélénée expressed a certain enthusiasm for the insight of the Huntress.

— Oh~... good deduction ! You are worthy of ancestors, warrior of the Tribe... The fact is that our body is so bathed in Energy that it is a poison to the development of a foetus. I must regulate it to keep only the bare minimum in case of problem, even if it means prolonging the pregnancy considerably... It's like playing the equilibrist : the slightest mistake and... Well, you get it.

— That's why you ended up in this state at Mountain Glenn," Raven continued.

— We all have been wrecked there, for me, it was just a bit more than others..." defended Sélénée with her ironic smile.

— It's painful ?

The question came from Summer. She had posed it without morbid intent, just by empathy for the sufferings of the Woman in Black.

— The last time I saw you, you...

— If you want to talk about my arm, it's nothing that Energy can't help me regenerate !" she assured, making a swinging motion with her arm.

— You were on the verge of dying...

This time, Sélénée did not have a mischievous smile in reserve to divert the subject from the conversation. With a gloomy face, she looked down at both hands. Especially the one she lost with the destruction of Mountain Glenn.

— I have spent my life suffering... But you don't have to worry about me.

— Not to worry…? But you are pregnant, damnit !" exclaimed Qrow, furious at being considered children by this woman still recovering." You should be safe, far from Salem...!

The response of the Woman in Black to Hunstman's considerations was scathing.

She burst out laughing without joy or mockery.

It was more like a cry of tears thrown back behind a curtain of black humor.

— You didn't have to listen when your teacher was talking, you... You don't know how easy Salem can influence Remnant. There are no limits immoral or ignoble enough to stop her. What she wants, she will have it.

— So what ? Everything is lost even before you start ?" Raven said.

— If so, do you really think we would be here to train you ?

Sélénée's piquant but honest repartee displeased Raven.

— If so, how are you going to train in your condition ?" she asked with a certain contempt in her voice.

— Raven, by Monty…," Taiyang sighed behind her.

— I already love this girl," said Sélénée.

After almost decapitating him with her scythe, Qrow was not sure that trying to provoke her was a good idea from her sister.

Ozpin knew it perfectly well, perhaps that was why he resume after his criticism sooner.

— I cannot speak for all of you, but according to Sélénée's state, I guess it takes at least a year for you to recover your Energy. Unfortunately, time is against us. Now that Atlas is interested in you, it will be necessary to defuse the situation there as quickly as possible before Salem makes things worse...

If the remark could have seemed accusing of Sélénée's actions, she only shrugged her shoulders and commented ironically.

— I didn't know that a little count could drive an entire army to nab me. But there will be plenty of time to train them.

— Time ?" repeated Raven." What are we talking about ? Three months ? Four ?

The Woman in White, who had now taken her place on the banks of the pond, said nothing. Her eyes slowly turned to darkness and their most loyal lover. It was from this dark shadow that a lifeless voice rose. Two words resounded in the vault.

— **Three years.**

A silence. Had they heard correctly ?

The Woman in Black now spoke in a slow voice.

— When I said that the pregnancy was prolonged, I did not speak in months... We take years to give birth.

And seeing their incredulous expression, even on the face of this "Raven", she could not restrain a wolf's smile.

— You better hang on !

* * *

 **PS** : Hello everyone !

First at all, happy new year everybody ! Best wishes, health, all that... You know the song.

Secondly... You have no idea how much this chapter 24 has been hard and looooong to do! At the beginning of February, I had already finished the passage of Salem and Ironwood. I had only to finish the passage in the vault and suddenly! BLANK PAGE

Faced with a breakdown of inspiration, I took more than three months to finally find the words and establish a correct order in my sentences. I do not remember having lost so much time on one passage so far! And yet I have known moments where I can not find the words! ^^

Also, say hello to DistantWhite and Wicho Poncho for following my fanfic ! Thanks a lot ! :)

In the end, thank you for your reading and I wish you good luck if one day you happen to be in a situation similar to mine!


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